Autumn Quail
by Naguib Mahfouz
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Three By Mahfouz represents a comprehensive collection of Mahfouz's work on twentieth-century life. These novels, previously published separately by Anchor, are meditations on the vicissitudes of post-Revolution Egypt. While they are diverse in style and narrative technique, together they render a vision of modern culture that is rich, nuanced, and utterly unique -- both specific to the Middle East and with implications for the universal dilemmas of contemporary life."The Beggar" is a show more complex tale of alienation and despair. Unable to achieve psychological renewal in the aftermath of Nasser's revolution, a man sacrifices his work and family to a series of illicit love affairs that intensify his feelings of estrangement. A passionate outcry against irrelevance, and a masterful work of fiction.Released from jail in post-revolutionary times, the hero of "The Thief And The Dogs" blames an unjust society for his ill fortune, reverting to old, thieving habits, and eventually bringing himself todestruction in a cruel world that denies him redemption even when his cold heart is eventually softened by love."Autumn Quail" is a tale of moral responsibility, alienation, and political downfall featuring a corrupt young bureaucrat, Isa ad-Dabbagh, who is one of the early victims of the purge after the 1952 Revolution in Egypt. Mahfouz presents a remarkable portrait of the clash between past and present, a portrait that is ultimately an optimistic one in which the tw show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I've read other books by Mr. Mahfouz and find him a very compelling writer. This short novel tells the story of a senior civil servant at the time of the 1950s revolution in Egypt. His career, and his life, are shattered by the change in government and he has no real way to cope. A compelling look at the effect of big picture politics on one man.
Mahfouz lures you in to this story with the most amazing description of the Cairo Fires. You see it through Isa, a very senior civil servant, who has returned to Cairo soon after they have started and walks through the city, shocked. He can't believe what is happening, even as it does. His staid denial is amazing, walking through the madness and destruction.
This was worth reading, educational about Egypt during the 1950s revolutionary period, but the protagonist is rather unlikable, making this challenging to get through.
En kortroman som utspelar sig under några politiskt omvälvande år på 1950-talet i Egypten. Det handlar just om det - Egyptens förändring - och jag känner att mina historiska kunskaper om detta är otillräckliga för att helt ta til mig denna romans budskap.
Men förutom det politiska finns också en beskrivning av ett mänskligt öde. Det är ganska bra berättat, men ändå blir det lite summariskt.
Men förutom det politiska finns också en beskrivning av ett mänskligt öde. Det är ganska bra berättat, men ändå blir det lite summariskt.
Jan 26, 2010Swedish
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Author Information
335+ Works 19,082 Members
Naguib Mahfouz was born in Cairo, Egypt on December 11, 1911. He received a degree in philosophy from the University of Cairo. He took on several civil service and government department jobs to supplement his income while writing, but retired from that career in 1971. During his lifetime, he wrote more than 30 novels including The Games of Fate, show more The Cairo Trilogy, Children of Gebelawi, The Thief and the Dogs, Autumn Quail, Small Talk on the Nile, and Miramar. He received numerous awards including the Egyptian State Prize, the Presidential Medal from the American University in Cairo, and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988. He died as a result of a head injury on August 30, 2006 at the age of 94. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1962 (original Arabic) (original Arabic); 1985 (English: Allen) (English: Allen)
- First words*
- När tåget stannade kunde han inte se någon som väntade på honom.
- Last words*
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Hankom på fötter i ett plötsligt utbrott av entusiasm och gav sig iväg efter den andre med långa kliv och lämnade bänken bakom sig, försänkt i ensamhet och mörker.
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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
- PJ7846 .A46 .S9613 — Language and Literature Oriental languages and literatures Oriental philology and literature Arabic Arabic literature Individual authors or works
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 131
- Popularity
- 248,231
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.61)
- Languages
- 5 — Arabic, English, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 13
- ASINs
- 1
