Who is Naguib Mahfouz ?

Answer 1

Naguib Mahfouz, an Egyptian, was one of the world's great novelists of the latter half of the 20th century. Many of his works were controversial, prompting censorship in Egypt, and in, one case, what some interpreted as a fatwah, which led to an assassination attempt when he was 82 years old. Some of them were thought to be irreligious; others were thought to be politically dangerous because they depicted realistically the corruption of the Nasser era.

He wrote 34 novels and hundreds of short stories. Some of his novels were made into films in the Arabic language. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988. His versatility as a writer is obvious from a consideration of just a few of his best known works:

(1) The Cairo trilogy (Palace Walk, 1956; Palace of Desire, 1957; and Sugar Street, 1957) is a historical series following a Cairo family for three generations from World War I to the overthrow of King Farouk in 1952.

(2) Children of Gebelawi (1959), perhaps his most controversial work, is a allegory set in an alley in Cairo, presenting sons of Gebelawi (who stands for God), certain of the sons representing Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and modern science.

(3) The Search (1964) is also roughly allegorical, following the misadventures of a modern man, the son of a prostitute, searching for but unable to find his father from whom he has been separated all his life (thought to represent modern man's futile search for God).

(4) Chitchat on the Nile (1971), which became one of Egypt's most famous films, deals with drug addicts from all levels of society during the decadence of Gamal Abdel Nasser's rule.

(5) The Harafish (1977) follows twelve generations of one family which produces a number of clan chiefs in a unnamed city of Egypt.

(6) Akhenaten, Dweller in Truth (1985) is an historical novel set in ancient Egypt, following a scribe's efforts to learn the truth about the Pharaoh Akhenaten, whether he was simply a power-hungry politician and a true religious believer.

Answer 2

Naguib Mahfouz was a noble prize winner for literature. His most famous novel may be "Midaq Alley." He was a great writer. Here's a website:

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1988/mahfouz-bio.html