Auf ein Miniaturbild klicken, um zu Google Books zu gelangen.
Lädt ... Midaq Alley / The Thief and the Dogs / Miramarvon Naguib Mahfouz
Keine Lädt ...
Melde dich bei LibraryThing an um herauszufinden, ob du dieses Buch mögen würdest. Keine aktuelle Diskussion zu diesem Buch. I found this existentialist novel to be delightful. It takes place in a small alley in Cairo in the mid-1940's and centers around the daily lives of those who live and work there over a period of about a year. I was planning to introduce the main characters and found a handy list on Wikipedia so I've borrowed it: Kirsha, a café owner who illegally sells and uses hashish and has a predilection for young boys Mrs. Kirsha, infamous for her temper Uncle Kamil, good-hearted, bachelor sweets-seller, famously bloated and sleepy Abbas, a young, kindly barber who loves the neighborhood and wants to get married Salim Alwan, the wealthy businessman Dr. Booshy, the self-proclaimed dentist Sheikh Darwish, the old poet and former English teacher, who left his former life to roam the streets. Radwan Hussainy, a landlord who beats his wife and failed his al-Azhar exams, yet is revered for his high degree of education and devotion to Allah. He has lost all of his children. Hussain Kirsha, son of the café owner who works for the British. Saniya Afify, widowed landlady Umm Hamida, the neighborhood matchmaker and bath attendant; Hamida's foster mother Hamida, a beautiful young woman who dreams of a better life Husniya, the bakeress who beats her husband with her slipper Jaada, Husniya's husband Zaita, the cripple maker who lives outside the bakery The characters are all very human with both good and bad sides. Although I didn't find the characters sympathetic enough to really care what was going to happen to them, I was interested enough in them that it was hard to put the book down. I definitely recommend this book and plan to read more by this author in the future. Zeige 3 von 3 keine Rezensionen | Rezension hinzufügen
Beinhaltet
Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
Aktuelle DiskussionenKeineBeliebte Umschlagbilder
Google Books — Lädt ... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)892.736Literature Literature of other languages Middle Eastern languages Arabic (Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan) Arabic fiction 1945–2000Klassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt:
Bist das du?Werde ein LibraryThing-Autor. |
One unique character is a cripple maker who creates beggars and lives off the alms people give them. Another intriguing character is the fiery neighborhood beauty. At first we see her as the person who many are attracted to as she walks somewhat seductively through the alley. She accepts the proposal of the young barber who immediately leaves to enlist in the British army so he can provide a better life for his fiancé. This is where this story begins to get darker. The young beauty readily forgets she's engaged and agrees to marry the wealthiest resident of the neighborhood who immediately has a heart attack and they never marry. Then a handsome well dressed outsider peaks her interest. They toy with each other challenging each to make a move. He winds up enticing her but doesn't want to marry her instead he wants to groom her and be her pimp. She leaves the alley and her past embracing his offer but getting more thrills by fighting with him. Needless to say it ends badly.
One contrast that stuck me was the constant referencing to God and the Prophet and everything must be the will of God. That was not surprising. What was surprising is the absence of an Imam and little mention of any attendance at a mosque. Not totally absent but definitely not central to the alley. I came away from his book feeling that I'd just read a long short story. I wanted more. The author wraps things up with a short judgment - all things eventually never change the alley. The events just roll on. ( )