Ahdaf Soueif's The Map of Love is a massive family saga, a story that draws its readers into two moments in the complex, and troubled, history of modern Egypt. The story begins in New York, in 1997: Isabel Parkman discovers an old trunk full of documents--some in English, some in Arabic--in her dying mother's apartment. Omar-al- Ghamrawi, a man with whom she is falling in love, directs her to his sister, Amal, in Cairo. Together the two women begin to uncover the stories embedded in the journal of Lady Anna Winterbourne (who travels to Egypt in 1900 and falls in love with Sharif Pasha al- Barudi, an Egyptian Nationalist) and the unsuspected connections between their own families. British colonialism, Egyptian nationalism, the clash of cultures in the Middle East in 1900 and the present day: the different narratives of The Map of Love weave a subtle, and reflective, tale of love across culture and conflict--the ways in which relations between individuals may (or may not) make the difference. "I am in an English autumn in 1897 and Anna's troubled heart lies open before me": Amal's response to Anna Winterbourne's journal could be a description of how to read this fascinating book, its invitation to use words as a means to travel through time, space and identity. --Vicky Lebeau

Egypt, past and present, 11 Nov 2008
I must admit I picked this up because of the cover and in my head it was a different book. A happy error!

A British Lady falls in love with an Egyptian Pasha in 1900s Egypt. Her great-granddaughter goes through the papers in her trunk and enlists a distant cousin's help to re-discover her story. The story is narrated by this cousin in 1997, reminding herself of the tales her mother had told her.

Knowing very little about modern Egypt, the book is set at key points in Egypt's history - turn of the century, with Egypt struggling for independence from Turkey and British influence and 1997, a turbulent year with terrorist attacks.


An entry into a different world, 21 Oct 2007
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, which did what the best books do - taught me something and enriched my understanding of the world and other people.
I knew next to nothing about Egypt, but now I feel that I understand the atmosphere in which the characters lived, their syle(s) of life, and above all about the British Empire and its effect on subject peoples. JB

Full of passion, 23 Feb 2007
This was a great book, a becon for Arabs and Muslims. The story is passionate on every front, passionate in the love story, passionate in patriotism, passionate in its anguish at the unjust. Mesmerising and captivating. Reading its pages is like being on the ondulating sea, with waves that take you up and down, sometimes rough, sometimes tranquil. I agree with the critic that called "Egypt" the true heroine. The history is infused in the story and you feel trapped in that time, living the same battle lived by many Egyptians, angry at the colonialists and angry still, seeing that 100 years down the line, the same politic is applied under a different banner. But history, as the book says, will run its course. One day it will be our day.
Ahdaf Soueif is marvellous, a model to all the talents of the arabs... something to look up to and be proud of.
My hope now is for someone to turn it into a movie, a sensitive movie that transpires history and tells the story as it truly is.

A beautifully written book, 27 Jun 2006
Not just a beautiful and moving love story, but a history of Egypt and colonialism. I couldn't put it down.

A fascinating read, 11 Apr 2005
This amazing book that deals with the intricacies involved when two people from different cultures , from nations that have different histories and directions who love another come to realize that their lives together is a challenge that is not based on love alone and that time hasn't and will never mitigate the inherent differences. This is a must read for those embracing multi-culturalism, cosmopolitanism and the global economy. One thing for sure is that this novel is a thought-provoking, socially challenging and compelling read. I highly recommend it along with:Disciples of Fortune, Sugar Street, The usurper and other Stories

Egypt, past and present, 11 Nov 2008
I must admit I picked this up because of the cover and in my head it was a different book. A happy error!

A British Lady falls in love with an Egyptian Pasha in 1900s Egypt. Her great-granddaughter goes through the papers in her trunk and enlists a distant cousin's help to re-discover her story. The story is narrated by this cousin in 1997, reminding herself of the tales her mother had told her.

Knowing very little about modern Egypt, the book is set at key points in Egypt's history - turn of the century, with Egypt struggling for independence from Turkey and British influence and 1997, a turbulent year with terrorist attacks.


An entry into a different world, 21 Oct 2007
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, which did what the best books do - taught me something and enriched my understanding of the world and other people.
I knew next to nothing about Egypt, but now I feel that I understand the atmosphere in which the characters lived, their syle(s) of life, and above all about the British Empire and its effect on subject peoples. JB

Full of passion, 23 Feb 2007
This was a great book, a becon for Arabs and Muslims. The story is passionate on every front, passionate in the love story, passionate in patriotism, passionate in its anguish at the unjust. Mesmerising and captivating. Reading its pages is like being on the ondulating sea, with waves that take you up and down, sometimes rough, sometimes tranquil. I agree with the critic that called "Egypt" the true heroine. The history is infused in the story and you feel trapped in that time, living the same battle lived by many Egyptians, angry at the colonialists and angry still, seeing that 100 years down the line, the same politic is applied under a different banner. But history, as the book says, will run its course. One day it will be our day.
Ahdaf Soueif is marvellous, a model to all the talents of the arabs... something to look up to and be proud of.
My hope now is for someone to turn it into a movie, a sensitive movie that transpires history and tells the story as it truly is.

A beautifully written book, 27 Jun 2006
Not just a beautiful and moving love story, but a history of Egypt and colonialism. I couldn't put it down.

A fascinating read, 11 Apr 2005
This amazing book that deals with the intricacies involved when two people from different cultures , from nations that have different histories and directions who love another come to realize that their lives together is a challenge that is not based on love alone and that time hasn't and will never mitigate the inherent differences. This is a must read for those embracing multi-culturalism, cosmopolitanism and the global economy. One thing for sure is that this novel is a thought-provoking, socially challenging and compelling read. I highly recommend it along with:Disciples of Fortune, Sugar Street, The usurper and other Stories

Marvelous, 05 Apr 2008
If this can be compared to Tolstoy then it is to Anna Karenina rather than to War and Peace. It is true that the novel occurs against the background of war and nationalist fervour and that some characters are caught up in events and all are by the end profoundly affected by them. However, this is above all a recounting of how one family is unhappy in its own way.

The pace is slow, but the journey is worthwhile. Strongly recommended.

Do not compare this to Tolstoy..., 25 Mar 2008
This is the first book in a highly-rated trilogy, where the entire trio of books was originally written as one book. It tells of a family in Cairo in 1918.

First of all, forget any references that tell you this is equivalent to Tolstoy. It is not remotely in that class. After fifty pages, you know what all the main characters are like, and where you are. Most of the next 450 pages will be spent repeating these things.

The first half of this book is a seemingly endless repetition of the father's hypocrisy, the mother's submissiveness, the physical attributes of the daughters, and three sons who seem almost interchangeable except for their ages. At no time does Mahfouz attempt to draw depth and nuance into his characters. They are defined by two or three characteristics, and these are re-applied in each scenario.

Suddenly, halfway through the book, Mahfouz decides he is not actually writing an historical saga of who gets married, and introduces a political context of the uprising against British occupation. This comes with a total lack of historical, political or social framework, and so makes no sense at all. The reader, unless he/she comes armed with a knowledge of early 20th-century Egyptian politics, merely observes these things in a vacuum.

Ultimately, this is a densely-written, curiously old-fashioned book. It is heavy going, not because there is so much information, detail and subtlety; it is heavy going because the prose is turgid (possibly badly translated as well), and the plot is claustrophobic, illuminating little that adds to an understanding of either character or context. There is virtually no idea of what Cairo is like: it could be Baghdad, Casablanca, or Riyadh.

Whereas Tolstoy used his stories to provide a vivid sense of time, place, social values, geopolitics and history, Mahfouz has simply written a very narrow story, with no sense of place, and hoped that this provides an insight into time and location. It does not. The book lacks the sweep, imagination, plot momentum, subtlety of characterisation, and social context that others have claimed for it. Its' style makes it feel like a book written 200 years ago - leaden story, stilted and false dialogue, repetitious and dull. You will not know much more about Cairo or Egypt at the end than when you started, and you will not have been entertained in the interim.


Palace Walk The Cairo Trilogy, 05 May 2004
A startlingly beautiful book and trilogy. Through Mahfouz, you see Egyptian society, social structure, religion, politics, love and a long lost era. Magic, heaven and apparently, it's even better in Arabic!

An amazing trilogy, 01 Apr 2003
When I went to Egypt recently, every Egyptian I met, when I expressed an interest in Egyptian literature, told me to read the Cairo trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz. Once you've read the trilogy you'll realise why he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. He tells a gripping story of a family's life in Cairo, interweaving the stories of each member of the family with the wider political events affecting Egypt during the first half of the twentieth century. It gives an insight into Egyptian life which as an outsider you could never otherwise hope to gain. The trilogy is timeless and easily the best three books I have read in the past year.

a compelling read!, 30 Mar 2003
The characters in this book are amazingly well developed. It is crystal clear as to what drives their actions, and as the story twists into a compelling read, it is as though you actually know the characters.

Set in Egypt in the 1900s, this book explores the double standards set for men and women in Egyptian society, and the way that cultural expectations are mistaken for teachings of Islam, which means that people - such as the daughters in the novel - do not question the shackles placed on their lives, as they are convinced that this is the way that God has commanded them to live.

The desperately miserable and dreary lives of the women of the household, especially Amina are portrayed excellently, as are the dreams and ideals of the young men in the family.

i couldn't put this book down, and can't wait to get started on the second of the trilogy!

Egypt, past and present, 11 Nov 2008
I must admit I picked this up because of the cover and in my head it was a different book. A happy error!

A British Lady falls in love with an Egyptian Pasha in 1900s Egypt. Her great-granddaughter goes through the papers in her trunk and enlists a distant cousin's help to re-discover her story. The story is narrated by this cousin in 1997, reminding herself of the tales her mother had told her.

Knowing very little about modern Egypt, the book is set at key points in Egypt's history - turn of the century, with Egypt struggling for independence from Turkey and British influence and 1997, a turbulent year with terrorist attacks.


An entry into a different world, 21 Oct 2007
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, which did what the best books do - taught me something and enriched my understanding of the world and other people.
I knew next to nothing about Egypt, but now I feel that I understand the atmosphere in which the characters lived, their syle(s) of life, and above all about the British Empire and its effect on subject peoples. JB

Full of passion, 23 Feb 2007
This was a great book, a becon for Arabs and Muslims. The story is passionate on every front, passionate in the love story, passionate in patriotism, passionate in its anguish at the unjust. Mesmerising and captivating. Reading its pages is like being on the ondulating sea, with waves that take you up and down, sometimes rough, sometimes tranquil. I agree with the critic that called "Egypt" the true heroine. The history is infused in the story and you feel trapped in that time, living the same battle lived by many Egyptians, angry at the colonialists and angry still, seeing that 100 years down the line, the same politic is applied under a different banner. But history, as the book says, will run its course. One day it will be our day.
Ahdaf Soueif is marvellous, a model to all the talents of the arabs... something to look up to and be proud of.
My hope now is for someone to turn it into a movie, a sensitive movie that transpires history and tells the story as it truly is.

A beautifully written book, 27 Jun 2006
Not just a beautiful and moving love story, but a history of Egypt and colonialism. I couldn't put it down.

A fascinating read, 11 Apr 2005
This amazing book that deals with the intricacies involved when two people from different cultures , from nations that have different histories and directions who love another come to realize that their lives together is a challenge that is not based on love alone and that time hasn't and will never mitigate the inherent differences. This is a must read for those embracing multi-culturalism, cosmopolitanism and the global economy. One thing for sure is that this novel is a thought-provoking, socially challenging and compelling read. I highly recommend it along with:Disciples of Fortune, Sugar Street, The usurper and other Stories

Marvelous, 05 Apr 2008
If this can be compared to Tolstoy then it is to Anna Karenina rather than to War and Peace. It is true that the novel occurs against the background of war and nationalist fervour and that some characters are caught up in events and all are by the end profoundly affected by them. However, this is above all a recounting of how one family is unhappy in its own way.

The pace is slow, but the journey is worthwhile. Strongly recommended.

Do not compare this to Tolstoy..., 25 Mar 2008
This is the first book in a highly-rated trilogy, where the entire trio of books was originally written as one book. It tells of a family in Cairo in 1918.

First of all, forget any references that tell you this is equivalent to Tolstoy. It is not remotely in that class. After fifty pages, you know what all the main characters are like, and where you are. Most of the next 450 pages will be spent repeating these things.

The first half of this book is a seemingly endless repetition of the father's hypocrisy, the mother's submissiveness, the physical attributes of the daughters, and three sons who seem almost interchangeable except for their ages. At no time does Mahfouz attempt to draw depth and nuance into his characters. They are defined by two or three characteristics, and these are re-applied in each scenario.

Suddenly, halfway through the book, Mahfouz decides he is not actually writing an historical saga of who gets married, and introduces a political context of the uprising against British occupation. This comes with a total lack of historical, political or social framework, and so makes no sense at all. The reader, unless he/she comes armed with a knowledge of early 20th-century Egyptian politics, merely observes these things in a vacuum.

Ultimately, this is a densely-written, curiously old-fashioned book. It is heavy going, not because there is so much information, detail and subtlety; it is heavy going because the prose is turgid (possibly badly translated as well), and the plot is claustrophobic, illuminating little that adds to an understanding of either character or context. There is virtually no idea of what Cairo is like: it could be Baghdad, Casablanca, or Riyadh.

Whereas Tolstoy used his stories to provide a vivid sense of time, place, social values, geopolitics and history, Mahfouz has simply written a very narrow story, with no sense of place, and hoped that this provides an insight into time and location. It does not. The book lacks the sweep, imagination, plot momentum, subtlety of characterisation, and social context that others have claimed for it. Its' style makes it feel like a book written 200 years ago - leaden story, stilted and false dialogue, repetitious and dull. You will not know much more about Cairo or Egypt at the end than when you started, and you will not have been entertained in the interim.


Palace Walk The Cairo Trilogy, 05 May 2004
A startlingly beautiful book and trilogy. Through Mahfouz, you see Egyptian society, social structure, religion, politics, love and a long lost era. Magic, heaven and apparently, it's even better in Arabic!

An amazing trilogy, 01 Apr 2003
When I went to Egypt recently, every Egyptian I met, when I expressed an interest in Egyptian literature, told me to read the Cairo trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz. Once you've read the trilogy you'll realise why he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. He tells a gripping story of a family's life in Cairo, interweaving the stories of each member of the family with the wider political events affecting Egypt during the first half of the twentieth century. It gives an insight into Egyptian life which as an outsider you could never otherwise hope to gain. The trilogy is timeless and easily the best three books I have read in the past year.

a compelling read!, 30 Mar 2003
The characters in this book are amazingly well developed. It is crystal clear as to what drives their actions, and as the story twists into a compelling read, it is as though you actually know the characters.

Set in Egypt in the 1900s, this book explores the double standards set for men and women in Egyptian society, and the way that cultural expectations are mistaken for teachings of Islam, which means that people - such as the daughters in the novel - do not question the shackles placed on their lives, as they are convinced that this is the way that God has commanded them to live.

The desperately miserable and dreary lives of the women of the household, especially Amina are portrayed excellently, as are the dreams and ideals of the young men in the family.

i couldn't put this book down, and can't wait to get started on the second of the trilogy!

As good as the first part, 05 Apr 2008
Every bit as good as the first volume in the trilogy. Mahfouz, like all great novelists, can make you care for characters that are, when viewed objectively, quite unsympathetic.

Second part of "The Cairo Trilogy", 09 May 2005
In the second volume of "The Cairo Trilogy", we follow the progress of Al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad's family after the death of Fahmy in a riot against the British. After more than one year, Al-Sayyid Ahmad resumes his visits to Jalila and Zubayda. The later is to become his private mistress on a houseboat on the Nile and later Yasin's wife! Kamal is now seventeen and to Al-Sayyid Ahmad's disappointment he intends to enrol at the Teachers College. His father would wish him to become a civil servant or an engineer but Kamal is more interested in literature and philosophy. He is indeed becoming an adult and his relation with his mother Amina is changing. He feels that he has nothing much to tell her except "meaningless chatter". Another disappointment for Kamal is his love for Aïda who never quite reciprocates his feelings for her.
What makes the second volume interesting is the evolution of the Egyptian society, the rules of which begin to relax as the country inexorably adopts more Western values. These values are difficult to accept for conservative people like those of Al-Sayyid Ahmad's generation. It appears that the family values suffer most from such a modernisation and in this respect Yasin is a good example with his three marriages. Like in the first volume, the reader can expect the highest literary standards in "Palace Of Desire" by one of the greatest writers of the 20th century.

Mahfouz a Master of Characterization, 16 Aug 2003
While this book could be read on it's own, I highly suggest reading Palace Walk first, as it is a sequel. The reader really needs the background from the first book to fully appreciate this one.

This book opens with the father, Al Sayyid Ahmad Abd al Jawad, in middle age. He,and his oldest son, Yasin continue their romantic escapades. Kamal is hurt terribly in love. This book absolutely deverves the Nobel Prize for Literature that it won, as you really feel with all of the characters. Naguib Mahfouz is a master of characterization, and of many different types of characters.

If you have read and enjoyed Palace Walk, by all means, continue with Palace of Desire, and Sugar Street (third and last of the series of three). You will NOT be disappointed.

Mahfouz a Master of Characterization, 13 Jul 2003
While this book could be read on it's own, I highly suggest reading Palace Walk first, as it is a sequel. The reader really needs the background from the first book to fully appreciate this one.

This book opens with the father, Al Sayyid Ahmad Abd al Jawad, in middle age. He,and his oldest son, Yasin continue their romantic escapades. Kamal is hurt terribly in love. This book absolutely deverves the Nobel Prize for Literature that it won, as you really feel with all of the characters. Naguib Mahfouz is a master of characterization, and of many different types of characters.

If you have read and enjoyed Palace Walk, by all means, continue with Palace of Desire, and Sugar Street (third and last of the series of three). You will NOT be disappointed.

Egypt, past and present, 11 Nov 2008
I must admit I picked this up because of the cover and in my head it was a different book. A happy error!

A British Lady falls in love with an Egyptian Pasha in 1900s Egypt. Her great-granddaughter goes through the papers in her trunk and enlists a distant cousin's help to re-discover her story. The story is narrated by this cousin in 1997, reminding herself of the tales her mother had told her.

Knowing very little about modern Egypt, the book is set at key points in Egypt's history - turn of the century, with Egypt struggling for independence from Turkey and British influence and 1997, a turbulent year with terrorist attacks.


An entry into a different world, 21 Oct 2007
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, which did what the best books do - taught me something and enriched my understanding of the world and other people.
I knew next to nothing about Egypt, but now I feel that I understand the atmosphere in which the characters lived, their syle(s) of life, and above all about the British Empire and its effect on subject peoples. JB

Full of passion, 23 Feb 2007
This was a great book, a becon for Arabs and Muslims. The story is passionate on every front, passionate in the love story, passionate in patriotism, passionate in its anguish at the unjust. Mesmerising and captivating. Reading its pages is like being on the ondulating sea, with waves that take you up and down, sometimes rough, sometimes tranquil. I agree with the critic that called "Egypt" the true heroine. The history is infused in the story and you feel trapped in that time, living the same battle lived by many Egyptians, angry at the colonialists and angry still, seeing that 100 years down the line, the same politic is applied under a different banner. But history, as the book says, will run its course. One day it will be our day.
Ahdaf Soueif is marvellous, a model to all the talents of the arabs... something to look up to and be proud of.
My hope now is for someone to turn it into a movie, a sensitive movie that transpires history and tells the story as it truly is.

A beautifully written book, 27 Jun 2006
Not just a beautiful and moving love story, but a history of Egypt and colonialism. I couldn't put it down.

A fascinating read, 11 Apr 2005
This amazing book that deals with the intricacies involved when two people from different cultures , from nations that have different histories and directions who love another come to realize that their lives together is a challenge that is not based on love alone and that time hasn't and will never mitigate the inherent differences. This is a must read for those embracing multi-culturalism, cosmopolitanism and the global economy. One thing for sure is that this novel is a thought-provoking, socially challenging and compelling read. I highly recommend it along with:Disciples of Fortune, Sugar Street, The usurper and other Stories

Marvelous, 05 Apr 2008
If this can be compared to Tolstoy then it is to Anna Karenina rather than to War and Peace. It is true that the novel occurs against the background of war and nationalist fervour and that some characters are caught up in events and all are by the end profoundly affected by them. However, this is above all a recounting of how one family is unhappy in its own way.

The pace is slow, but the journey is worthwhile. Strongly recommended.

Do not compare this to Tolstoy..., 25 Mar 2008
This is the first book in a highly-rated trilogy, where the entire trio of books was originally written as one book. It tells of a family in Cairo in 1918.

First of all, forget any references that tell you this is equivalent to Tolstoy. It is not remotely in that class. After fifty pages, you know what all the main characters are like, and where you are. Most of the next 450 pages will be spent repeating these things.

The first half of this book is a seemingly endless repetition of the father's hypocrisy, the mother's submissiveness, the physical attributes of the daughters, and three sons who seem almost interchangeable except for their ages. At no time does Mahfouz attempt to draw depth and nuance into his characters. They are defined by two or three characteristics, and these are re-applied in each scenario.

Suddenly, halfway through the book, Mahfouz decides he is not actually writing an historical saga of who gets married, and introduces a political context of the uprising against British occupation. This comes with a total lack of historical, political or social framework, and so makes no sense at all. The reader, unless he/she comes armed with a knowledge of early 20th-century Egyptian politics, merely observes these things in a vacuum.

Ultimately, this is a densely-written, curiously old-fashioned book. It is heavy going, not because there is so much information, detail and subtlety; it is heavy going because the prose is turgid (possibly badly translated as well), and the plot is claustrophobic, illuminating little that adds to an understanding of either character or context. There is virtually no idea of what Cairo is like: it could be Baghdad, Casablanca, or Riyadh.

Whereas Tolstoy used his stories to provide a vivid sense of time, place, social values, geopolitics and history, Mahfouz has simply written a very narrow story, with no sense of place, and hoped that this provides an insight into time and location. It does not. The book lacks the sweep, imagination, plot momentum, subtlety of characterisation, and social context that others have claimed for it. Its' style makes it feel like a book written 200 years ago - leaden story, stilted and false dialogue, repetitious and dull. You will not know much more about Cairo or Egypt at the end than when you started, and you will not have been entertained in the interim.


Palace Walk The Cairo Trilogy, 05 May 2004
A startlingly beautiful book and trilogy. Through Mahfouz, you see Egyptian society, social structure, religion, politics, love and a long lost era. Magic, heaven and apparently, it's even better in Arabic!

An amazing trilogy, 01 Apr 2003
When I went to Egypt recently, every Egyptian I met, when I expressed an interest in Egyptian literature, told me to read the Cairo trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz. Once you've read the trilogy you'll realise why he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. He tells a gripping story of a family's life in Cairo, interweaving the stories of each member of the family with the wider political events affecting Egypt during the first half of the twentieth century. It gives an insight into Egyptian life which as an outsider you could never otherwise hope to gain. The trilogy is timeless and easily the best three books I have read in the past year.

a compelling read!, 30 Mar 2003
The characters in this book are amazingly well developed. It is crystal clear as to what drives their actions, and as the story twists into a compelling read, it is as though you actually know the characters.

Set in Egypt in the 1900s, this book explores the double standards set for men and women in Egyptian society, and the way that cultural expectations are mistaken for teachings of Islam, which means that people - such as the daughters in the novel - do not question the shackles placed on their lives, as they are convinced that this is the way that God has commanded them to live.

The desperately miserable and dreary lives of the women of the household, especially Amina are portrayed excellently, as are the dreams and ideals of the young men in the family.

i couldn't put this book down, and can't wait to get started on the second of the trilogy!

As good as the first part, 05 Apr 2008
Every bit as good as the first volume in the trilogy. Mahfouz, like all great novelists, can make you care for characters that are, when viewed objectively, quite unsympathetic.

Second part of "The Cairo Trilogy", 09 May 2005
In the second volume of "The Cairo Trilogy", we follow the progress of Al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad's family after the death of Fahmy in a riot against the British. After more than one year, Al-Sayyid Ahmad resumes his visits to Jalila and Zubayda. The later is to become his private mistress on a houseboat on the Nile and later Yasin's wife! Kamal is now seventeen and to Al-Sayyid Ahmad's disappointment he intends to enrol at the Teachers College. His father would wish him to become a civil servant or an engineer but Kamal is more interested in literature and philosophy. He is indeed becoming an adult and his relation with his mother Amina is changing. He feels that he has nothing much to tell her except "meaningless chatter". Another disappointment for Kamal is his love for Aïda who never quite reciprocates his feelings for her.
What makes the second volume interesting is the evolution of the Egyptian society, the rules of which begin to relax as the country inexorably adopts more Western values. These values are difficult to accept for conservative people like those of Al-Sayyid Ahmad's generation. It appears that the family values suffer most from such a modernisation and in this respect Yasin is a good example with his three marriages. Like in the first volume, the reader can expect the highest literary standards in "Palace Of Desire" by one of the greatest writers of the 20th century.

Mahfouz a Master of Characterization, 16 Aug 2003
While this book could be read on it's own, I highly suggest reading Palace Walk first, as it is a sequel. The reader really needs the background from the first book to fully appreciate this one.

This book opens with the father, Al Sayyid Ahmad Abd al Jawad, in middle age. He,and his oldest son, Yasin continue their romantic escapades. Kamal is hurt terribly in love. This book absolutely deverves the Nobel Prize for Literature that it won, as you really feel with all of the characters. Naguib Mahfouz is a master of characterization, and of many different types of characters.

If you have read and enjoyed Palace Walk, by all means, continue with Palace of Desire, and Sugar Street (third and last of the series of three). You will NOT be disappointed.

Mahfouz a Master of Characterization, 13 Jul 2003
While this book could be read on it's own, I highly suggest reading Palace Walk first, as it is a sequel. The reader really needs the background from the first book to fully appreciate this one.

This book opens with the father, Al Sayyid Ahmad Abd al Jawad, in middle age. He,and his oldest son, Yasin continue their romantic escapades. Kamal is hurt terribly in love. This book absolutely deverves the Nobel Prize for Literature that it won, as you really feel with all of the characters. Naguib Mahfouz is a master of characterization, and of many different types of characters.

If you have read and enjoyed Palace Walk, by all means, continue with Palace of Desire, and Sugar Street (third and last of the series of three). You will NOT be disappointed.

Third part of "The Cairo Trilogy", 11 May 2005
In the third part of "The Cairo Trilogy", life of the Abd al-Jawad family goes on. Amina's body now withered, her hair white, ill health and grief having altered her considerably. Her diligence and her capacity for running the household are now gone. She no longer pays attention to her home except for the services to her husband al-Sayyid Ahmad, once a vigorous man in full swing. He now suffers from high blood pressure and he had to give up many of the pleasures of life - drinks, women and good food. In fact, many months before dying, he is completely bedridden, a particularly humiliating situation for a man with such a strong ego.
Here Mr Mahfouz casts a compassionate glance at the irony of life which makes elderly people become utterly dependant on others, as they used to be when they were infants. For Kamal, now thirty-six, it is sad to see his family age, all the more since he refuses to get married and thus spends a lot of time aloof and lonely. Aiming at becoming a true intellectual, Kamal often collides with doubt and struggles with instincts and passions and is becoming "an emotionally crippled recluse". He often broods about his youth, his love for Aïda and the eternal loss of the enchanting past.
But there are also reasons to rejoice as the younger generation takes over and ascends in society. Marriages take place, careers are planned. Mr Mahfouz splendidly portrays this cycle of life in which the old generation gives way to the boisterous and cheerful young one. This is shown in the moving final scene when Kamal and his brother Yasin enter a store where the former buys several items for his daughter's baby while the latter buys a black necktie he will need when the mournful day of his mother's death arrives...

The Saga Continues, 16 Aug 2003
This is the third book in the Cairo Trilogy Series. By all means, do NOT try to read this book without having read Palace Walk or Palace of Desire FIRST--it would be like tuning in to a movie in the last half hour.

This book opens with the father and his wife in old age, in their 60's, their children in middle age, and the younger (third) generation entering their 20's. It continues the interesting saga. The book finishes shortly after both the father and his wife eventually die of old age.

This entire series is SLOW DRAMA (warning for those who like "action"), but one of the BEST pieces of literature I have ever read in my life. I have lived in the Middle East for 11 years, and this entire series REALLY shows the Middle Eastern culture and way of thinking.

The Saga Continues, 17 Jul 2003
This is the third book in the Cairo Trilogy Series. By all means, do NOT try to read this book without having read Palace Walk or Palace of Desire FIRST--it would be like tuning in to a movie in the last half hour.

This book opens with the father and his wife in old age, in their 60's, their children in middle age, and the younger (third) generation entering their 20's. It continues the interesting saga. The book finishes shortly after both the father and his wife eventually die of old age.

This entire series is SLOW DRAMA (warning for those who like "action"), but one of the BEST pieces of literature I have ever read in my life. I have lived in the Middle East for 11 years, and this entire series REALLY shows the Middle Eastern culture and way of thinking.

disappointing, 26 Jul 1999
If you enjoyed "Palace Walk," and even "Palace of Desire," you will have to agree that this book is disapointing. It is shorter than the others (notably so) and with far less to say. The family falls into such a decline in this story as to lack believability. Mahfouz's treatment of one of his characters -- Aisha -- the youngest daughter of the family and considered very beautiful -- is unbelievably harsh. Happily for us, it is nearly impossible for a real life person to have a life as tragic as Aisha's. Her tragedy makes absolutely no sense and ruins the book for me, making me wonder whether Mahfouz might be some sort of mysogynist. No one else has a really great life to contrast either. My advice: Read "Palace Walk" and then move on to something else.

a little too forced, but still great, 20 Mar 1999
Not as good as the first two. But still, such a great story.

Literary critic Edward Said has described Ahdaf Soueif as "one of the most extraordinary chroniclers of sexual politics now writing"; In the Eye of the Sun, a story of love and war, sexuality and politics, in modern Egypt and England is a key contribution to that chronicle (Soueif's The Map of Love, first published in 1999, is another). The book begins in London in 1979, with Asya reflecting back on events in Cairo more than a decade before. It's May, 1967: Asya, studying for University, is in the grip of "exam fever"; on the stage of international politics, war is about to break out between Israel and Egypt. Soueif presents that war in brief, journalistic "scenes" that run alongside her exploration of Asya's coming-of-age as a woman in modern Egypt. For Asya, education, love, sexuality and marriage are bound up with, and touched by, the violent conflicts between Egypt and Israel--as well as the seductions, and disappointments, of Europe. Studying for her doctorate in literature at an English University, Asya confronts the difficulty of her marriage to Saif--a man she loves but has never been able to make love to, who is never with her but finds her demands on his time "intolerable". The scenes between husband and wife are among the most memorable, and painful, in the book: in particular, Saif's furious shock at his wife's (eventual) infidelity: "I expected my wife to be loyal. I expected my wife to have some sense of honour. I expected ..."

Exploring the gulf between them through that other gulf between East and West, Soueif offers a remarkable reflection on the recent history of Egypt and England through the life of a woman who won't give up on her question: "Why does it have to be like this?" --Vicky Lebeau

Egypt, past and present, 11 Nov 2008
I must admit I picked this up because of the cover and in my head it was a different book. A happy error!

A British Lady falls in love with an Egyptian Pasha in 1900s Egypt. Her great-granddaughter goes through the papers in her trunk and enlists a distant cousin's help to re-discover her story. The story is narrated by this cousin in 1997, reminding herself of the tales her mother had told her.

Knowing very little about modern Egypt, the book is set at key points in Egypt's history - turn of the century, with Egypt struggling for independence from Turkey and British influence and 1997, a turbulent year with terrorist attacks.


An entry into a different world, 21 Oct 2007
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, which did what the best books do - taught me something and enriched my understanding of the world and other people.
I knew next to nothing about Egypt, but now I feel that I understand the atmosphere in which the characters lived, their syle(s) of life, and above all about the British Empire and its effect on subject peoples. JB

Full of passion, 23 Feb 2007
This was a great book, a becon for Arabs and Muslims. The story is passionate on every front, passionate in the love story, passionate in patriotism, passionate in its anguish at the unjust. Mesmerising and captivating. Reading its pages is like being on the ondulating sea, with waves that take you up and down, sometimes rough, sometimes tranquil. I agree with the critic that called "Egypt" the true heroine. The history is infused in the story and you feel trapped in that time, living the same battle lived by many Egyptians, angry at the colonialists and angry still, seeing that 100 years down the line, the same politic is applied under a different banner. But history, as the book says, will run its course. One day it will be our day.
Ahdaf Soueif is marvellous, a model to all the talents of the arabs... something to look up to and be proud of.
My hope now is for someone to turn it into a movie, a sensitive movie that transpires history and tells the story as it truly is.

A beautifully written book, 27 Jun 2006
Not just a beautiful and moving love story, but a history of Egypt and colonialism. I couldn't put it down.

A fascinating read, 11 Apr 2005
This amazing book that deals with the intricacies involved when two people from different cultures , from nations that have different histories and directions who love another come to realize that their lives together is a challenge that is not based on love alone and that time hasn't and will never mitigate the inherent differences. This is a must read for those embracing multi-culturalism, cosmopolitanism and the global economy. One thing for sure is that this novel is a thought-provoking, socially challenging and compelling read. I highly recommend it along with:Disciples of Fortune, Sugar Street, The usurper and other Stories

Marvelous, 05 Apr 2008
If this can be compared to Tolstoy then it is to Anna Karenina rather than to War and Peace. It is true that the novel occurs against the background of war and nationalist fervour and that some characters are caught up in events and all are by the end profoundly affected by them. However, this is above all a recounting of how one family is unhappy in its own way.

The pace is slow, but the journey is worthwhile. Strongly recommended.

Do not compare this to Tolstoy..., 25 Mar 2008
This is the first book in a highly-rated trilogy, where the entire trio of books was originally written as one book. It tells of a family in Cairo in 1918.

First of all, forget any references that tell you this is equivalent to Tolstoy. It is not remotely in that class. After fifty pages, you know what all the main characters are like, and where you are. Most of the next 450 pages will be spent repeating these things.

The first half of this book is a seemingly endless repetition of the father's hypocrisy, the mother's submissiveness, the physical attributes of the daughters, and three sons who seem almost interchangeable except for their ages. At no time does Mahfouz attempt to draw depth and nuance into his characters. They are defined by two or three characteristics, and these are re-applied in each scenario.

Suddenly, halfway through the book, Mahfouz decides he is not actually writing an historical saga of who gets married, and introduces a political context of the uprising against British occupation. This comes with a total lack of historical, political or social framework, and so makes no sense at all. The reader, unless he/she comes armed with a knowledge of early 20th-century Egyptian politics, merely observes these things in a vacuum.

Ultimately, this is a densely-written, curiously old-fashioned book. It is heavy going, not because there is so much information, detail and subtlety; it is heavy going because the prose is turgid (possibly badly translated as well), and the plot is claustrophobic, illuminating little that adds to an understanding of either character or context. There is virtually no idea of what Cairo is like: it could be Baghdad, Casablanca, or Riyadh.

Whereas Tolstoy used his stories to provide a vivid sense of time, place, social values, geopolitics and history, Mahfouz has simply written a very narrow story, with no sense of place, and hoped that this provides an insight into time and location. It does not. The book lacks the sweep, imagination, plot momentum, subtlety of characterisation, and social context that others have claimed for it. Its' style makes it feel like a book written 200 years ago - leaden story, stilted and false dialogue, repetitious and dull. You will not know much more about Cairo or Egypt at the end than when you started, and you will not have been entertained in the interim.


Palace Walk The Cairo Trilogy, 05 May 2004
A startlingly beautiful book and trilogy. Through Mahfouz, you see Egyptian society, social structure, religion, politics, love and a long lost era. Magic, heaven and apparently, it's even better in Arabic!

An amazing trilogy, 01 Apr 2003
When I went to Egypt recently, every Egyptian I met, when I expressed an interest in Egyptian literature, told me to read the Cairo trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz. Once you've read the trilogy you'll realise why he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. He tells a gripping story of a family's life in Cairo, interweaving the stories of each member of the family with the wider political events affecting Egypt during the first half of the twentieth century. It gives an insight into Egyptian life which as an outsider you could never otherwise hope to gain. The trilogy is timeless and easily the best three books I have read in the past year.

a compelling read!, 30 Mar 2003
The characters in this book are amazingly well developed. It is crystal clear as to what drives their actions, and as the story twists into a compelling read, it is as though you actually know the characters.

Set in Egypt in the 1900s, this book explores the double standards set for men and women in Egyptian society, and the way that cultural expectations are mistaken for teachings of Islam, which means that people - such as the daughters in the novel - do not question the shackles placed on their lives, as they are convinced that this is the way that God has commanded them to live.

The desperately miserable and dreary lives of the women of the household, especially Amina are portrayed excellently, as are the dreams and ideals of the young men in the family.

i couldn't put this book down, and can't wait to get started on the second of the trilogy!

As good as the first part, 05 Apr 2008
Every bit as good as the first volume in the trilogy. Mahfouz, like all great novelists, can make you care for characters that are, when viewed objectively, quite unsympathetic.

Second part of "The Cairo Trilogy", 09 May 2005
In the second volume of "The Cairo Trilogy", we follow the progress of Al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad's family after the death of Fahmy in a riot against the British. After more than one year, Al-Sayyid Ahmad resumes his visits to Jalila and Zubayda. The later is to become his private mistress on a houseboat on the Nile and later Yasin's wife! Kamal is now seventeen and to Al-Sayyid Ahmad's disappointment he intends to enrol at the Teachers College. His father would wish him to become a civil servant or an engineer but Kamal is more interested in literature and philosophy. He is indeed becoming an adult and his relation with his mother Amina is changing. He feels that he has nothing much to tell her except "meaningless chatter". Another disappointment for Kamal is his love for Aïda who never quite reciprocates his feelings for her.
What makes the second volume interesting is the evolution of the Egyptian society, the rules of which begin to relax as the country inexorably adopts more Western values. These values are difficult to accept for conservative people like those of Al-Sayyid Ahmad's generation. It appears that the family values suffer most from such a modernisation and in this respect Yasin is a good example with his three marriages. Like in the first volume, the reader can expect the highest literary standards in "Palace Of Desire" by one of the greatest writers of the 20th century.

Mahfouz a Master of Characterization, 16 Aug 2003
While this book could be read on it's own, I highly suggest reading Palace Walk first, as it is a sequel. The reader really needs the background from the first book to fully appreciate this one.

This book opens with the father, Al Sayyid Ahmad Abd al Jawad, in middle age. He,and his oldest son, Yasin continue their romantic escapades. Kamal is hurt terribly in love. This book absolutely deverves the Nobel Prize for Literature that it won, as you really feel with all of the characters. Naguib Mahfouz is a master of characterization, and of many different types of characters.

If you have read and enjoyed Palace Walk, by all means, continue with Palace of Desire, and Sugar Street (third and last of the series of three). You will NOT be disappointed.

Mahfouz a Master of Characterization, 13 Jul 2003
While this book could be read on it's own, I highly suggest reading Palace Walk first, as it is a sequel. The reader really needs the background from the first book to fully appreciate this one.

This book opens with the father, Al Sayyid Ahmad Abd al Jawad, in middle age. He,and his oldest son, Yasin continue their romantic escapades. Kamal is hurt terribly in love. This book absolutely deverves the Nobel Prize for Literature that it won, as you really feel with all of the characters. Naguib Mahfouz is a master of characterization, and of many different types of characters.

If you have read and enjoyed Palace Walk, by all means, continue with Palace of Desire, and Sugar Street (third and last of the series of three). You will NOT be disappointed.

Third part of "The Cairo Trilogy", 11 May 2005
In the third part of "The Cairo Trilogy", life of the Abd al-Jawad family goes on. Amina's body now withered, her hair white, ill health and grief having altered her considerably. Her diligence and her capacity for running the household are now gone. She no longer pays attention to her home except for the services to her husband al-Sayyid Ahmad, once a vigorous man in full swing. He now suffers from high blood pressure and he had to give up many of the pleasures of life - drinks, women and good food. In fact, many months before dying, he is completely bedridden, a particularly humiliating situation for a man with such a strong ego.
Here Mr Mahfouz casts a compassionate glance at the irony of life which makes elderly people become utterly dependant on others, as they used to be when they were infants. For Kamal, now thirty-six, it is sad to see his family age, all the more since he refuses to get married and thus spends a lot of time aloof and lonely. Aiming at becoming a true intellectual, Kamal often collides with doubt and struggles with instincts and passions and is becoming "an emotionally crippled recluse". He often broods about his youth, his love for Aïda and the eternal loss of the enchanting past.
But there are also reasons to rejoice as the younger generation takes over and ascends in society. Marriages take place, careers are planned. Mr Mahfouz splendidly portrays this cycle of life in which the old generation gives way to the boisterous and cheerful young one. This is shown in the moving final scene when Kamal and his brother Yasin enter a store where the former buys several items for his daughter's baby while the latter buys a black necktie he will need when the mournful day of his mother's death arrives...

The Saga Continues, 16 Aug 2003
This is the third book in the Cairo Trilogy Series. By all means, do NOT try to read this book without having read Palace Walk or Palace of Desire FIRST--it would be like tuning in to a movie in the last half hour.

This book opens with the father and his wife in old age, in their 60's, their children in middle age, and the younger (third) generation entering their 20's. It continues the interesting saga. The book finishes shortly after both the father and his wife eventually die of old age.

This entire series is SLOW DRAMA (warning for those who like "action"), but one of the BEST pieces of literature I have ever read in my life. I have lived in the Middle East for 11 years, and this entire series REALLY shows the Middle Eastern culture and way of thinking.

The Saga Continues, 17 Jul 2003
This is the third book in the Cairo Trilogy Series. By all means, do NOT try to read this book without having read Palace Walk or Palace of Desire FIRST--it would be like tuning in to a movie in the last half hour.

This book opens with the father and his wife in old age, in their 60's, their children in middle age, and the younger (third) generation entering their 20's. It continues the interesting saga. The book finishes shortly after both the father and his wife eventually die of old age.

This entire series is SLOW DRAMA (warning for those who like "action"), but one of the BEST pieces of literature I have ever read in my life. I have lived in the Middle East for 11 years, and this entire series REALLY shows the Middle Eastern culture and way of thinking.

disappointing, 26 Jul 1999
If you enjoyed "Palace Walk," and even "Palace of Desire," you will have to agree that this book is disapointing. It is shorter than the others (notably so) and with far less to say. The family falls into such a decline in this story as to lack believability. Mahfouz's treatment of one of his characters -- Aisha -- the youngest daughter of the family and considered very beautiful -- is unbelievably harsh. Happily for us, it is nearly impossible for a real life person to have a life as tragic as Aisha's. Her tragedy makes absolutely no sense and ruins the book for me, making me wonder whether Mahfouz might be some sort of mysogynist. No one else has a really great life to contrast either. My advice: Read "Palace Walk" and then move on to something else.

a little too forced, but still great, 20 Mar 1999
Not as good as the first two. But still, such a great story.

An acquired taste, 04 Jun 2008
This is a very good example of a particular type of book, a genre. In style and scope it reminded me of the work of Naguib Mahfouz (the Cairo trilogy). It is what I would call a typical middle-eastern novel - big on character, short on plot. A western reader can wonder when a book like this is going to take off, but it never does because it is all about character development. The plot doesn't go anywhere because there isn't one to speak of, and this can make this style of writing a tad tedious at times. If you want something with a bit more pace try A woman of Cairo by Noel Barber (but this is popular and easy to read so isn't regarded as literature).

Painfully wordy, 17 Mar 2008
I gave up after 277 pages. This book is in desperate need of a vicious edit. I found the main character Asya self-absorbed, spoilt and immature - perhaps she grows up eventually, but she's bored me so much I haven't the will to stay with her 'til she does.
There may well be a good novel buried in all these words, but the book failed to engage me enough to discover it. Life is too short. Read something else.

A lovely insight to a heart torn between two worlds, 17 Jan 2006
A must-read for anyone (whether man or woman) growing up torn between two cultures. Soueif shows us what it is like to have the 'real life' imposed on you, the one you live everyday without contemplating because it is given and one grows up not questioning - and the other free life where the only rules that matter are the ones you set on yourself. Asya lives these two lifes, and like so many women from her part of the world, she cannot decide which life-path to choose and what is right and what is wrong.

Being an Egytpian myself, I have enjoyed this book even more. I know the streets, the places she goes to, the expressions used. A lovely 800 pages that pass by too quickly, and the reader is left with a part of Asya inside them doing the thinking.

Women can't fail to recognise themselves in this book., 11 Nov 2002
Whilst this novel is slow to start, it deserves to be considered a brilliant book because it depicts incredibly accurately, and with true warmth and compassion for men as well as women, the struggle women have finding their true identity from under all the obligations placed on them by society and religion.

The 'heroine' of the book needs to be loved for who she is and yet can't bear to disappoint all the expectations around her. This is a dramatic (at times terrifyingly true to life) insight into this conflict of needs. The question, "how do you find meaningful relationships within the cultural expectations of all societies in the world, including the West?" is examined here with great honesty. A story that women everywhere will truly identify with.

Read it!, 17 Nov 2000
If you are at all interested in women's lives in the contemporary Middle East - or even if you're not - you should read this book. It will tell you more about Egyptian society, about the effects of the Arab-Israeli conflict, about the difficulties facing women, who, like the protaginist Asya, find themselves thorn between tradition and modernity, than any number of non-fiction words ever will. Despite the size of the book - and the fact that I am not generally a keen reader of novels - I devoured this book in a matter of days, and remain haunted by it. Read it!

Egypt, past and present, 11 Nov 2008
I must admit I picked this up because of the cover and in my head it was a different book. A happy error!

A British Lady falls in love with an Egyptian Pasha in 1900s Egypt. Her great-granddaughter goes through the papers in her trunk and enlists a distant cousin's help to re-discover her story. The story is narrated by this cousin in 1997, reminding herself of the tales her mother had told her.

Knowing very little about modern Egypt, the book is set at key points in Egypt's history - turn of the century, with Egypt struggling for independence from Turkey and British influence and 1997, a turbulent year with terrorist attacks.


An entry into a different world, 21 Oct 2007
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, which did what the best books do - taught me something and enriched my understanding of the world and other people.
I knew next to nothing about Egypt, but now I feel that I understand the atmosphere in which the characters lived, their syle(s) of life, and above all about the British Empire and its effect on subject peoples. JB

Full of passion, 23 Feb 2007
This was a great book, a becon for Arabs and Muslims. The story is passionate on every front, passionate in the love story, passionate in patriotism, passionate in its anguish at the unjust. Mesmerising and captivating. Reading its pages is like being on the ondulating sea, with waves that take you up and down, sometimes rough, sometimes tranquil. I agree with the critic that called "Egypt" the true heroine. The history is infused in the story and you feel trapped in that time, living the same battle lived by many Egyptians, angry at the colonialists and angry still, seeing that 100 years down the line, the same politic is applied under a different banner. But history, as the book says, will run its course. One day it will be our day.
Ahdaf Soueif is marvellous, a model to all the talents of the arabs... something to look up to and be proud of.
My hope now is for someone to turn it into a movie, a sensitive movie that transpires history and tells the story as it truly is.

A beautifully written book, 27 Jun 2006
Not just a beautiful and moving love story, but a history of Egypt and colonialism. I couldn't put it down.

A fascinating read, 11 Apr 2005
This amazing book that deals with the intricacies involved when two people from different cultures , from nations that have different histories and directions who love another come to realize that their lives together is a challenge that is not based on love alone and that time hasn't and will never mitigate the inherent differences. This is a must read for those embracing multi-culturalism, cosmopolitanism and the global economy. One thing for sure is that this novel is a thought-provoking, socially challenging and compelling read. I highly recommend it along with:Disciples of Fortune, Sugar Street, The usurper and other Stories

Marvelous, 05 Apr 2008
If this can be compared to Tolstoy then it is to Anna Karenina rather than to War and Peace. It is true that the novel occurs against the background of war and nationalist fervour and that some characters are caught up in events and all are by the end profoundly affected by them. However, this is above all a recounting of how one family is unhappy in its own way.

The pace is slow, but the journey is worthwhile. Strongly recommended.

Do not compare this to Tolstoy..., 25 Mar 2008
This is the first book in a highly-rated trilogy, where the entire trio of books was originally written as one book. It tells of a family in Cairo in 1918.

First of all, forget any references that tell you this is equivalent to Tolstoy. It is not remotely in that class. After fifty pages, you know what all the main characters are like, and where you are. Most of the next 450 pages will be spent repeating these things.

The first half of this book is a seemingly endless repetition of the father's hypocrisy, the mother's submissiveness, the physical attributes of the daughters, and three sons who seem almost interchangeable except for their ages. At no time does Mahfouz attempt to draw depth and nuance into his characters. They are defined by two or three characteristics, and these are re-applied in each scenario.

Suddenly, halfway through the book, Mahfouz decides he is not actually writing an historical saga of who gets married, and introduces a political context of the uprising against British occupation. This comes with a total lack of historical, political or social framework, and so makes no sense at all. The reader, unless he/she comes armed with a knowledge of early 20th-century Egyptian politics, merely observes these things in a vacuum.

Ultimately, this is a densely-written, curiously old-fashioned book. It is heavy going, not because there is so much information, detail and subtlety; it is heavy going because the prose is turgid (possibly badly translated as well), and the plot is claustrophobic, illuminating little that adds to an understanding of either character or context. There is virtually no idea of what Cairo is like: it could be Baghdad, Casablanca, or Riyadh.

Whereas Tolstoy used his stories to provide a vivid sense of time, place, social values, geopolitics and history, Mahfouz has simply written a very narrow story, with no sense of place, and hoped that this provides an insight into time and location. It does not. The book lacks the sweep, imagination, plot momentum, subtlety of characterisation, and social context that others have claimed for it. Its' style makes it feel like a book written 200 years ago - leaden story, stilted and false dialogue, repetitious and dull. You will not know much more about Cairo or Egypt at the end than when you started, and you will not have been entertained in the interim.


Palace Walk The Cairo Trilogy, 05 May 2004
A startlingly beautiful book and trilogy. Through Mahfouz, you see Egyptian society, social structure, religion, politics, love and a long lost era. Magic, heaven and apparently, it's even better in Arabic!

An amazing trilogy, 01 Apr 2003
When I went to Egypt recently, every Egyptian I met, when I expressed an interest in Egyptian literature, told me to read the Cairo trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz. Once you've read the trilogy you'll realise why he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. He tells a gripping story of a family's life in Cairo, interweaving the stories of each member of the family with the wider political events affecting Egypt during the first half of the twentieth century. It gives an insight into Egyptian life which as an outsider you could never otherwise hope to gain. The trilogy is timeless and easily the best three books I have read in the past year.

a compelling read!, 30 Mar 2003
The characters in this book are amazingly well developed. It is crystal clear as to what drives their actions, and as the story twists into a compelling read, it is as though you actually know the characters.

Set in Egypt in the 1900s, this book explores the double standards set for men and women in Egyptian society, and the way that cultural expectations are mistaken for teachings of Islam, which means that people - such as the daughters in the novel - do not question the shackles placed on their lives, as they are convinced that this is the way that God has commanded them to live.

The desperately miserable and dreary lives of the women of the household, especially Amina are portrayed excellently, as are the dreams and ideals of the young men in the family.

i couldn't put this book down, and can't wait to get started on the second of the trilogy!

As good as the first part, 05 Apr 2008
Every bit as good as the first volume in the trilogy. Mahfouz, like all great novelists, can make you care for characters that are, when viewed objectively, quite unsympathetic.

Second part of "The Cairo Trilogy", 09 May 2005
In the second volume of "The Cairo Trilogy", we follow the progress of Al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad's family after the death of Fahmy in a riot against the British. After more than one year, Al-Sayyid Ahmad resumes his visits to Jalila and Zubayda. The later is to become his private mistress on a houseboat on the Nile and later Yasin's wife! Kamal is now seventeen and to Al-Sayyid Ahmad's disappointment he intends to enrol at the Teachers College. His father would wish him to become a civil servant or an engineer but Kamal is more interested in literature and philosophy. He is indeed becoming an adult and his relation with his mother Amina is changing. He feels that he has nothing much to tell her except "meaningless chatter". Another disappointment for Kamal is his love for Aïda who never quite reciprocates his feelings for her.
What makes the second volume interesting is the evolution of the Egyptian society, the rules of which begin to relax as the country inexorably adopts more Western values. These values are difficult to accept for conservative people like those of Al-Sayyid Ahmad's generation. It appears that the family values suffer most from such a modernisation and in this respect Yasin is a good example with his three marriages. Like in the first volume, the reader can expect the highest literary standards in "Palace Of Desire" by one of the greatest writers of the 20th century.

Mahfouz a Master of Characterization, 16 Aug 2003
While this book could be read on it's own, I highly suggest reading Palace Walk first, as it is a sequel. The reader really needs the background from the first book to fully appreciate this one.

This book opens with the father, Al Sayyid Ahmad Abd al Jawad, in middle age. He,and his oldest son, Yasin continue their romantic escapades. Kamal is hurt terribly in love. This book absolutely deverves the Nobel Prize for Literature that it won, as you really feel with all of the characters. Naguib Mahfouz is a master of characterization, and of many different types of characters.

If you have read and enjoyed Palace Walk, by all means, continue with Palace of Desire, and Sugar Street (third and last of the series of three). You will NOT be disappointed.

Mahfouz a Master of Characterization, 13 Jul 2003
While this book could be read on it's own, I highly suggest reading Palace Walk first, as it is a sequel. The reader really needs the background from the first book to fully appreciate this one.

This book opens with the father, Al Sayyid Ahmad Abd al Jawad, in middle age. He,and his oldest son, Yasin continue their romantic escapades. Kamal is hurt terribly in love. This book absolutely deverves the Nobel Prize for Literature that it won, as you really feel with all of the characters. Naguib Mahfouz is a master of characterization, and of many different types of characters.

If you have read and enjoyed Palace Walk, by all means, continue with Palace of Desire, and Sugar Street (third and last of the series of three). You will NOT be disappointed.

Third part of "The Cairo Trilogy", 11 May 2005
In the third part of "The Cairo Trilogy", life of the Abd al-Jawad family goes on. Amina's body now withered, her hair white, ill health and grief having altered her considerably. Her diligence and her capacity for running the household are now gone. She no longer pays attention to her home except for the services to her husband al-Sayyid Ahmad, once a vigorous man in full swing. He now suffers from high blood pressure and he had to give up many of the pleasures of life - drinks, women and good food. In fact, many months before dying, he is completely bedridden, a particularly humiliating situation for a man with such a strong ego.
Here Mr Mahfouz casts a compassionate glance at the irony of life which makes elderly people become utterly dependant on others, as they used to be when they were infants. For Kamal, now thirty-six, it is sad to see his family age, all the more since he refuses to get married and thus spends a lot of time aloof and lonely. Aiming at becoming a true intellectual, Kamal often collides with doubt and struggles with instincts and passions and is becoming "an emotionally crippled recluse". He often broods about his youth, his love for Aïda and the eternal loss of the enchanting past.
But there are also reasons to rejoice as the younger generation takes over and ascends in society. Marriages take place, careers are planned. Mr Mahfouz splendidly portrays this cycle of life in which the old generation gives way to the boisterous and cheerful young one. This is shown in the moving final scene when Kamal and his brother Yasin enter a store where the former buys several items for his daughter's baby while the latter buys a black necktie he will need when the mournful day of his mother's death arrives...

The Saga Continues, 16 Aug 2003
This is the third book in the Cairo Trilogy Series. By all means, do NOT try to read this book without having read Palace Walk or Palace of Desire FIRST--it would be like tuning in to a movie in the last half hour.

This book opens with the father and his wife in old age, in their 60's, their children in middle age, and the younger (third) generation entering their 20's. It continues the interesting saga. The book finishes shortly after both the father and his wife eventually die of old age.

This entire series is SLOW DRAMA (warning for those who like "action"), but one of the BEST pieces of literature I have ever read in my life. I have lived in the Middle East for 11 years, and this entire series REALLY shows the Middle Eastern culture and way of thinking.

The Saga Continues, 17 Jul 2003
This is the third book in the Cairo Trilogy Series. By all means, do NOT try to read this book without having read Palace Walk or Palace of Desire FIRST--it would be like tuning in to a movie in the last half hour.

This book opens with the father and his wife in old age, in their 60's, their children in middle age, and the younger (third) generation entering their 20's. It continues the interesting saga. The book finishes shortly after both the father and his wife eventually die of old age.

This entire series is SLOW DRAMA (warning for those who like "action"), but one of the BEST pieces of literature I have ever read in my life. I have lived in the Middle East for 11 years, and this entire series REALLY shows the Middle Eastern culture and way of thinking.

disappointing, 26 Jul 1999
If you enjoyed "Palace Walk," and even "Palace of Desire," you will have to agree that this book is disapointing. It is shorter than the others (notably so) and with far less to say. The family falls into such a decline in this story as to lack believability. Mahfouz's treatment of one of his characters -- Aisha -- the youngest daughter of the family and considered very beautiful -- is unbelievably harsh. Happily for us, it is nearly impossible for a real life person to have a life as tragic as Aisha's. Her tragedy makes absolutely no sense and ruins the book for me, making me wonder whether Mahfouz might be some sort of mysogynist. No one else has a really great life to contrast either. My advice: Read "Palace Walk" and then move on to something else.

a little too forced, but still great, 20 Mar 1999
Not as good as the first two. But still, such a great story.

An acquired taste, 04 Jun 2008
This is a very good example of a particular type of book, a genre. In style and scope it reminded me of the work of Naguib Mahfouz (the Cairo trilogy). It is what I would call a typical middle-eastern novel - big on character, short on plot. A western reader can wonder when a book like this is going to take off, but it never does because it is all about character development. The plot doesn't go anywhere because there isn't one to speak of, and this can make this style of writing a tad tedious at times. If you want something with a bit more pace try A woman of Cairo by Noel Barber (but this is popular and easy to read so isn't regarded as literature).

Painfully wordy, 17 Mar 2008
I gave up after 277 pages. This book is in desperate need of a vicious edit. I found the main character Asya self-absorbed, spoilt and immature - perhaps she grows up eventually, but she's bored me so much I haven't the will to stay with her 'til she does.
There may well be a good novel buried in all these words, but the book failed to engage me enough to discover it. Life is too short. Read something else.

A lovely insight to a heart torn between two worlds, 17 Jan 2006
A must-read for anyone (whether man or woman) growing up torn between two cultures. Soueif shows us what it is like to have the 'real life' imposed on you, the one you live everyday without contemplating because it is given and one grows up not questioning - and the other free life where the only rules that matter are the ones you set on yourself. Asya lives these two lifes, and like so many women from her part of the world, she cannot decide which life-path to choose and what is right and what is wrong.

Being an Egytpian myself, I have enjoyed this book even more. I know the streets, the places she goes to, the expressions used. A lovely 800 pages that pass by too quickly, and the reader is left with a part of Asya inside them doing the thinking.

Women can't fail to recognise themselves in this book., 11 Nov 2002
Whilst this novel is slow to start, it deserves to be considered a brilliant book because it depicts incredibly accurately, and with true warmth and compassion for men as well as women, the struggle women have finding their true identity from under all the obligations placed on them by society and religion.

The 'heroine' of the book needs to be loved for who she is and yet can't bear to disappoint all the expectations around her. This is a dramatic (at times terrifyingly true to life) insight into this conflict of needs. The question, "how do you find meaningful relationships within the cultural expectations of all societies in the world, including the West?" is examined here with great honesty. A story that women everywhere will truly identify with.

Read it!, 17 Nov 2000
If you are at all interested in women's lives in the contemporary Middle East - or even if you're not - you should read this book. It will tell you more about Egyptian society, about the effects of the Arab-Israeli conflict, about the difficulties facing women, who, like the protaginist Asya, find themselves thorn between tradition and modernity, than any number of non-fiction words ever will. Despite the size of the book - and the fact that I am not generally a keen reader of novels - I devoured this book in a matter of days, and remain haunted by it. Read it!

The partition problem, 09 Nov 2008
Various factors played a role in partition: the utterly manipulative role of Winston Churchill and his henchmen in dividing the two countries must be taught in all history books of teh Indian subcontinent...he may have been a great man in the war but as a human being he had no humanity about him. His corresponednce with Jinnah using code names are clearly mentioned in Alex Tunzelman's book Indian Summer.
Jinnah in his rekindled enthusiasm let loose the mullah's and this continues to be the bane of Pakistan....and that part of the world. Yet Jinnah himself was very cosmopolitan in his outlook, he ate bacon and drank wine happily....it was only after partition and seeing the large scale of murderous deaths did he question himself on the worthiness of the whole venture.
Over the centuries Hindus and Moslems had learnt to live in peace and harmony ...in which case why did all this flare up in partition? No doubt the politicians played a key role in it abetted by teh British. The religions are so vastly different: Hinduism (like Judiasm) is not a proselytising religion whereas Islam chose to impose itself by force, and in the early days with brutal force....
What does the future hold? Will the Indian subcontinet become one as before? only time will tell....but this book portarys these aspects so well...


One of the finest works of partition fiction, 23 Sep 2007
Published as Ice Candy Man and Cracking India (and made into a movie called Earth) the book tells the story of the partition. Initially I was put of by the fact that we had a child narrator, but Lenny's insights and interpretations of the events around her can be almost hilarious and work very well in what is otherwise an almost violent read. Much has been made of the pro-Pakistani slant to the book, it's a bias that's hard to deny but it is an almost impossible to task to find literature on the partition, both from fact or fiction that is truly objective. Sidwa presents a view point and it is a view point shared by many and therefore should be read for that reason alone. As a work of literature this is almost with equal and is the finest piece of partition fiction I have read to date. It's not a tale of politicians, but of people and how they react to the events unfolding. Central to the story are the many men of all religions courting Lenny's Ayah, we meet the Ice Candy Man, the masseur, the butcher all vie for her affections. The book, though it takes a few chapters to get going soon becomes impossible to put down, the mixture of humour and violence can leave one laughing one minute and almost reduced to tears the next. A must read.

well written but not accurate, 06 Dec 2005
miss sidwa claims this to be a historical account but she was only a child herself back then. some people here have said that as a parsi she was an unbiased observer, but the fact is that this book is the outcome of the post-partition prejudices of pakistan which she grew up in and obviously absorbed.

one reviewer correctly pointed out that whilst the depiction of muslims in the book is sympathetic that of the hindu and sikh characters is far from so (all the hindus are depicted as cowhardly, weak and conniving and all the sikhs as oafish, mosterous brutes). the portraits of everyday white characters are equally as crude.

the history is censored- no mention of any build up, or the 'direct action days' of the muslim league etc etc. there is no balance of 'both sides of the story'. she totally omits any context and throws in a chronologicaly inaccurate and wholly fictional encounter with gandhi. infact the historical liberties she has taken in this book are quite disturbing.

and so if you are interested in actually understanding the partition and the events around it i suggest you find a good history book by a truely unbiased observer, to supplement this or any other fiction you read.

however miss sidwa IS a good writer with a gift for aesthetics. the book DOES have some fascinating insights into human nature.

putting the flaws aside Bapsi Sidhwa is a bold and gifted writer.

warmly felt novel -- but one reviewer is laughable, 27 Jun 2005
Sidhwa's book is a warm depiction of one child's experience with an atrocious moment in history.

But what I want to discuss is the comment below, by V. Sharma. It's ridiculous to say: '...this would be akin to Jews in America demanding a separate state -- it would never happen.' Excuse me? Since the reviewer does not live in this world, let me state the obvious: Israel IS a separate Jewish state that came into existence in 1948 (one year after the Partition of India), and that today would not exist, certainly not as the political and nuclear power it is, if it weren't for Americans, both Jews and non-Jews. It's unfortunate that in this day and age, when the war against Palestinians has killed, displaced, and tortured millions, murders that are in large part being funded by American taxpayers, this needs to be pointed out.

Pakistan and Israel are both separate states that were made on the basis of religion. However, since the Jewish faith is innate (that is, there is a Jewish race, you cannot become Jewish by conversion) while Islam is not race-based (anyone can become a Muslim), the two states do not have much else in common. As human rights activists keep pointing out, Israel practices Apartheid: state-sanctioned supremacy of one race over another, i.e., Jews over Arabs.

The Partition of India was an awful event, and I agree with Sharma that it is simplistic to blame Hindus or Sikhs. But that is all I can agree with. Bapsi Sidhwa does not blame them. And Sharma should not blame Muslims either. The founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, had innitially wanted Muslims in India to have provincial autonomy, not a separate state, but because the Indian Congress (which was entirely Hindu) did not agree, his goals -- fortunately or unfortunately, that I can't say -- switched to a separate state. I know Pakistanis and Indians who say that if Congress had allowed space for Muslims within it, Partition would not have occurred. Some would even argue that it is Hindus who wanted the Partition, not Muslims. The bottom line is: Clearly, there is a lot to this episode that still needs to be learned so there is no point blaming any one side.

That is why Sidhwa's book (she herself is Parsi -- not Hindu, Muslim or Sikh) is so valuable. It is refreshingly unprejudiced.

This author's relative obscurity is inexplicable., 18 Oct 2003
Bapsi Sidhwa's Cracking India will expand and alter your view of India, Pakistan, and the British Raj. Using a child-narrator, a literary device over-employed and often unsuccessful, this author has found the perfect vehicle for conveying the heart-breaking story of the Partition of India in l947, without being coy and without descending into bathos.

Lenny, as the child of a Parsee family, roams freely through the Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, and Parsee society of her household and neighborhood in Lahore. Because she is lame and receiving private schooling, she is at home when momentous events and important conversations occur, and because she is very young and has no ethnic biases, she observes the disintegration of her society with the puzzlement of an outsider.

An active, loving person, Lenny makes us see the personal and emotional costs of the founding of Pakistan, especially to women and children. Whether your interest is historical, literary, or feminist, Cracking India will illuminate the dangers and tragedies of creating artificial geographical boundaries. Mary Whipple

Egypt, past and present, 11 Nov 2008
I must admit I picked this up because of the cover and in my head it was a different book. A happy error!

A British Lady falls in love with an Egyptian Pasha in 1900s Egypt. Her great-granddaughter goes through the papers in her trunk and enlists a distant cousin's help to re-discover her story. The story is narrated by this cousin in 1997, reminding herself of the tales her mother had told her.

Knowing very little about modern Egypt, the book is set at key points in Egypt's history - turn of the century, with Egypt struggling for independence from Turkey and British influence and 1997, a turbulent year with terrorist attacks.


An entry into a different world, 21 Oct 2007
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, which did what the best books do - taught me something and enriched my understanding of the world and other people.
I knew next to nothing about Egypt, but now I feel that I understand the atmosphere in which the characters lived, their syle(s) of life, and above all about the British Empire and its effect on subject peoples. JB

Full of passion, 23 Feb 2007
This was a great book, a becon for Arabs and Muslims. The story is passionate on every front, passionate in the love story, passionate in patriotism, passionate in its anguish at the unjust. Mesmerising and captivating. Reading its pages is like being on the ondulating sea, with waves that take you up and down, sometimes rough, sometimes tranquil. I agree with the critic that called "Egypt" the true heroine. The history is infused in the story and you feel trapped in that time, living the same battle lived by many Egyptians, angry at the colonialists and angry still, seeing that 100 years down the line, the same politic is applied under a different banner. But history, as the book says, will run its course. One day it will be our day.
Ahdaf Soueif is marvellous, a model to all the talents of the arabs... something to look up to and be proud of.
My hope now is for someone to turn it into a movie, a sensitive movie that transpires history and tells the story as it truly is.

A beautifully written book, 27 Jun 2006
Not just a beautiful and moving love story, but a history of Egypt and colonialism. I couldn't put it down.

A fascinating read, 11 Apr 2005
This amazing book that deals with the intricacies involved when two people from different cultures , from nations that have different histories and directions who love another come to realize that their lives together is a challenge that is not based on love alone and that time hasn't and will never mitigate the inherent differences. This is a must read for those embracing multi-culturalism, cosmopolitanism and the global economy. One thing for sure is that this novel is a thought-provoking, socially challenging and compelling read. I highly recommend it along with:Disciples of Fortune, Sugar Street, The usurper and other Stories

Marvelous, 05 Apr 2008
If this can be compared to Tolstoy then it is to Anna Karenina rather than to War and Peace. It is true that the novel occurs against the background of war and nationalist fervour and that some characters are caught up in events and all are by the end profoundly affected by them. However, this is above all a recounting of how one family is unhappy in its own way.

The pace is slow, but the journey is worthwhile. Strongly recommended.

Do not compare this to Tolstoy..., 25 Mar 2008
This is the first book in a highly-rated trilogy, where the entire trio of books was originally written as one book. It tells of a family in Cairo in 1918.

First of all, forget any references that tell you this is equivalent to Tolstoy. It is not remotely in that class. After fifty pages, you know what all the main characters are like, and where you are. Most of the next 450 pages will be spent repeating these things.

The first half of this book is a seemingly endless repetition of the father's hypocrisy, the mother's submissiveness, the physical attributes of the daughters, and three sons who seem almost interchangeable except for their ages. At no time does Mahfouz attempt to draw depth and nuance into his characters. They are defined by two or three characteristics, and these are re-applied in each scenario.

Suddenly, halfway through the book, Mahfouz decides he is not actually writing an historical saga of who gets married, and introduces a political context of the uprising against British occupation. This comes with a total lack of historical, political or social framework, and so makes no sense at all. The reader, unless he/she comes armed with a knowledge of early 20th-century Egyptian politics, merely observes these things in a vacuum.

Ultimately, this is a densely-written, curiously old-fashioned book. It is heavy going, not because there is so much information, detail and subtlety; it is heavy going because the prose is turgid (possibly badly translated as well), and the plot is claustrophobic, illuminating little that adds to an understanding of either character or context. There is virtually no idea of what Cairo is like: it could be Baghdad, Casablanca, or Riyadh.

Whereas Tolstoy used his stories to provide a vivid sense of time, place, social values, geopolitics and history, Mahfouz has simply written a very narrow story, with no sense of place, and hoped that this provides an insight into time and location. It does not. The book lacks the sweep, imagination, plot momentum, subtlety of characterisation, and social context that others have claimed for it. Its' style makes it feel like a book written 200 years ago - leaden story, stilted and false dialogue, repetitious and dull. You will not know much more about Cairo or Egypt at the end than when you started, and you will not have been entertained in the interim.


Palace Walk The Cairo Trilogy, 05 May 2004
A startlingly beautiful book and trilogy. Through Mahfouz, you see Egyptian society, social structure, religion, politics, love and a long lost era. Magic, heaven and apparently, it's even better in Arabic!

An amazing trilogy, 01 Apr 2003
When I went to Egypt recently, every Egyptian I met, when I expressed an interest in Egyptian literature, told me to read the Cairo trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz. Once you've read the trilogy you'll realise why he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. He tells a gripping story of a family's life in Cairo, interweaving the stories of each member of the