Khan al-Khalili (Modern Arabic Novels (Hardcover)): A Novel - Hardcover

Naguib Mahfouz

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 9774161912 ISBN 13: 9789774161919

Publisher: American University in Cairo Press, 2008

Synopsis

The time is 1942. Against this backdrop of international upheaval, the novel tells the story of the Akifs, a middle-class family that has taken refuge in Cairo s historic and bustling Khan al-Khalili neighborhood. Believing that the German forces will never bomb such a famously religious part of the city, they seek safety among the crowded alleyways, busy cafés, and ancient mosques of the Khan, adjacent to the area where Mahfouz himself spent much of his young life. Through the eyes of Ahmad, the eldest Akif son and the novel s central character, Mahfouz presents a richly textured vision of the Khan, drawing on his own memories to assemble a lively cast of characters whose world is framed by the sights, smells, and flavors of his childhood home. A debate emerges that pits old against new, history against modernity, and faith against secularism. Addressing one of the fundamental questions of the modern era, Mahfouz asks whether, like the German bombs that threaten Khan al-Khalili daily, progress must necessarily be accompanied by the destruction of the past. Fans of Midaq Alley, The Beginning and the End, and The Cairo Trilogy will not want to miss this engaging and sensitive portrayal of a family at the crossroads of the old world and the new.

About this title

Review:

'Fans...will savor Khan al-Khalili, another work of social realism, first published in Arabic in 1946 and now translated into English for the first time.' (Cameron Martin)

About the Author:

ROGER ALLEN is professor of Arabic language and literature at the University of Pennsylvania. Among his translations are Naguib Mahfouzs Mirrors (AUC Press, 1999) and Bensalem Himmichs The Polymath (AUC Press, 2000).

About this edition

• Publisher: American University in Cairo Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 9774161912
• ISBN 13: 9789774161919
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 306