God Dies By the Nile

Throughout my holiday, I’ve been alerted to a steady uncertainty regarding my reading appetite. Most days it is inscrutable. Projects assemble but just as quick drift away.

A few hours ago I wasn’t reading this wonderful novel. My attentions were on Mahfouz. Then sunlight gilded our house. Each window was alive with possibility. I drifted upstairs and found myself pausing. There on the shelf was God Dies by the Nile. Agency reigns. I suppose that could be a subtitle for the novel. Sadat promised reform. That did not happen. The normalized atrocity depicted was more than expected.

The focus slips about, time is folded and then unrolled. The target of vengeance despite the title is secular. Think Weber. Disenchantment. This is an show more astonishing ensemble. Each perspective is indefinite, partial and flawed. The denouement while celebrated on the back matter remains shocking. show less

'We are God's slaves when it's time to say our prayers only But we are the mayor's slaves all the time', 4 Aug. 2012
By
sally tarbox

This review is from: God Dies by the Nile: 1 (Paperback)
The god in the title is not a deity but the mayor of a small village where, assisted by his henchmen, he governs with total corruption- forcing young girls to work for him, abusing them and ditching them once pregnant, and even committing murder or framing the innocent to remove unwanted people.
One family in particular suffers at his hands...
Saadawi does a good job of evoking rural life- the heat, the unceasing farm work and also the superstitious beliefs of the people. I was surprised to discover towards the end that it's actually set comparatively show more recently, just after the Suez/Sinai conflict - it feels as if it's much further back in time.
The author tells us this is based on a story she heard in her youth.
Quite interesting and well written although the 'angry defiance' that is quoted in every description of Zakeya became a little repetitive! show less

The story of a family living in a small village in Egypt, and all the tragic things that happen to them because of corrupt officials and the class divide. To be honest, I found this pretty hard to follow - the writing is very vague in places.