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The Harafish

Page 39

by Naguib Mahfouz

And the voices sang:

  Last night they relieved me of all my sorrows

  In the darkness they gave me the water of life.

  Naguib Mahfouz

  The Harafish

  Naguib Mahfouz was one of the most prominent writers of Arabic fiction in the twentieth century. Born in Cairo in 1911, he began writing when he was seventeen. Over his long career, he wrote nearly forty novel-length works and hundreds of short stories, ranging from re-imaginings of ancient myths to subtle commentaries on contemporary Egyptian politics and culture. His most famous work is The Cairo Trilogy (consisting of Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, and Sugar Street), which focuses on a Cairo family through three generations, from 1917 until 1952. In 1988, Mahfouz became the first writer in Arabic to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. He died in August 2006.

  BOOKS BY NAGUIB MAHFOUZ

  The Beggar, The Thief and the Dogs, Autumn Quail (omnibus edition)

  Respected Sir, Wedding Song, The Search (omnibus edition)

  The Beginning and the End

  The Time and the Place and Other Stories

  Midaq Alley

  The Journey of Ibn Fattouma

  Miramar

  Adrift on the Nile

  The Harafish

  Arabian Nights and Days

  Children of the Alley

  Echoes of an Autobiography

  The Day the Leader Was Killed

  Akhenaten, Dweller in Truth

  Voices from the Other World

  Khufu’s Wisdom

  Rhadopis of Nubia

  Thebes at War

  Seventh Heaven

  The Thief and the Dogs

  Karnak Café

  Morning and Evening Talk

  The Dreams

  Cairo Modern

  Khan al-Khalili

  The Mirage

  THE CAIRO TRILOGY

  Palace Walk

  Palace of Desire

  Sugar Street

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