Mark Rizk Farag’s Reviews > Palace Walk > Status Update
Mark Rizk Farag
is on page 8 of 501
Docile, submissive, superstitious female mc 😴😴😴
— May 02, 2022 01:06PM
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Mark’s Previous Updates
Mark Rizk Farag
is on page 70 of 501
- I didn't expect the book to have such strong religious overtones 😅.
- Throughly enjoying the characters!
- The women in this book are very oppressed
- it seems to be mandatory that every attractive woman in the book be described as lighter skinned
— Nov 03, 2023 02:56PM
- Throughly enjoying the characters!
- The women in this book are very oppressed
- it seems to be mandatory that every attractive woman in the book be described as lighter skinned
Mark Rizk Farag
is on page 35 of 501
'God I ask you to watch over my husband and children, my mother, Yasin and all the people: Muslims and Christians, even the English my Lord, but drive them from our land as a favour to Fahmy, who does not like them'
A brilliant prayer if I've ever heard one 😂
— Oct 30, 2023 04:44AM
A brilliant prayer if I've ever heard one 😂
Mark Rizk Farag
is 4% done
And so I step into the weird and wonderful world of Egyptian literature once again. The literature of my people, as my parents and their parents before them also would have.
The difference being, I do so in a foreign land, reading in a foreign tongue. Desperate to feel the warmth of the land of my ancestors within the pages. Eager to see if the fiction I read will illuminate how the present got so messed up.
— Jun 09, 2020 09:48AM
The difference being, I do so in a foreign land, reading in a foreign tongue. Desperate to feel the warmth of the land of my ancestors within the pages. Eager to see if the fiction I read will illuminate how the present got so messed up.
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rated it 5 stars
May 03, 2022 04:34AM
Naguib isn't good at female characters though, it's like something we need to get used to.
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This is so very true, he was a man of his era I suppose. I think the best Egyptian writers for female main characters I've seen are Nawal Al Saadawi and Latifa Zayyat!Ironically even Tawfiq Al Hakim is better at female mcs than mahfouz!
Which is very funny actually, I feel like Tawfiq El Hakim's female characters are dolls and Mahfouz's female characters are shadow puppets. Did you try Son'allah Ibrahim ? he's much another league. But El Hakim and Mahfouz are the fathers of the arabic novel as a genre so I try not to read them with the modern eye. Especially that they probably were not raised in environments where they mixed with women. Otherwise you can try Out El Kouloub a feminist author from the 1920's who wrote in French and her books are extremely modern, easy to read, show you an Egypt that was extremely multicultural, multifaith yet segregated and the characters are so dynamic, extremely realistic. She is slowly being forgotten but if you read Ramza you will be transfixed.
Thank you so much for the recommendations! I will be sure to check these out! I think you're absolutely right, the problem with some of the classic novels is that they misrepresent the female perspective and all but forget the perspectives of minorities, perhaps as you say due to their unmixed upbringings. I would argue that this problem is still present in modern works such as those of Alaa Al Aswany. Unfortunately for me, I read these books in English and so I am limited in scope to what is available in translation. I aim to improve my Arabic but will check out Out El Koloub and see if there are translations as a matter of urgency.
Out El Kouloub is translated in English, at least Ramza is and easier to find than in French. I had to actually buy her books from antique dealers. I was blown away by Ramza to be honest. I was like discovering Egypt under a completely new light. I do agree with you that Aswany does the same. But overall I feel he is more concerned with analyzing society rather building characters. Perhaps also because he knows that that's what interests a western readership, a more anthropological view. My arabic isn't that great too (what a shame and to think that I grew up in Egypt) but I hope to start reading in arabic a bit soon. I read Mahfouz in french as his structure really lends well to a french translation. Perhaps you may also like Youssef Idriss, especially one short story called "house of flesh" which will really shake you up. That can easily be read in Arabic, I could manage it a few years ago and now my Arabic is much stronger.
Try Miral al Tahawy as well. Female centred narratives, but not an easy style! Brooklyn Heights is the easiest read.
