The Open Door
by Latifa Al-Zayyat
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Description
The Open Door provides its unique view on a young woman's coming of age in Cairo, Egypt, the roller coaster of emotions she goes through as she hits that turbulent period of becoming aware of both the effect she has on a young man and what his proximity does to her.Tags
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Member Reviews
Despite Layla's Trollopian ditherings about her choice of men and her rather hopelessly rudderless personality, this bildungsroman holds the attention all the way to the apocalyptic climax of the Suez invasion. We can only hope that, after her disastrous choice of potential partners, her stroll into the sunset with Husayn will indeed find the yellow brick road. This novel envelopes us in the stifling nature of middle class conformity in Eyptian society of the 1950s. Only a deus ex machina, in the shape of European invasion, can rescue the protagonists (and us) from this nightmare. A very enjoyable read still today.
Arabic title: "Al-Bab al-maftuh" (1960)
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Lists
Universtiy of Toronto - NMC473/2173H - Intellectuals of the Arab World
91 works; 2 members
Author Information
6+ Works 116 Members
Awards and Honors
Notable Lists
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1960
- Original language
- Arabic
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, General Fiction
- DDC/MDS
- 892.736 — Literature & rhetoric Literatures of other languages Afro-Asiatic literatures Arabic (Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan) Arabic fiction 1945–2000
- LCC
- PJ7876 .A99 .B3313 — Language and Literature Oriental languages and literatures Oriental philology and literature Arabic Arabic literature Individual authors or works
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 96
- Popularity
- 333,882
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (4.11)
- Languages
- Arabic, English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 1
