This took a while to compose my thoughts on. Absolutely loved the writing. The first of a trilogy based on a middle class Egyptian family that is extremely conservative in religious beliefs. The story takes place from the period of WWI up until the Egyptian revolution in 1919. The effects of British occupation and the revolution takes up a significant role at the last 1/3rd of the novel.

The conservative restrictions seems to directed at the women while the men rationalize their behaviors. The oppression and double standards are portrayed in an almost satirical way. The way we all take religion and bend them according to our own boundaries of right and wrong seem to be accentuated and it was an eye-opener how we all do this to an extent.

This is the old-fashioned kind of novel where every tendril of a family's relationships is allowed to grow, twist, and come into the light. Each of the characters is complex: a tyrannical, loving, religious, and hedonistic father and a pious, put-upon, rebellious and repressive mother are just two of them. The youngest son is an innocent who brings a comic touch wherever he goes. The other brothers and sisters have their own stories and contradictions. They took a while to grow on me, but by the end of the book I loved them all

Spoiler

and mourned the death of Fahmy, the one who was most like me.

I also learned about Egypt during World War I, under the "protectorate" of the British, and the emergence of the Wafd party seeking independence.

It was hard to read parts of this book because of the oppression of women throughout. It will be a while before I pick up the next part of the trilogy. But I think ultimately I will read it all.

3.5 stars

This was a good snapshot into an Egyptian family's life. I liked the historical account of the Egyptians protesting the English's stay, but mostly it was just a story of a family, and I'm not even sure if it was a typical family. It seemed that the head of the household was more strict than most of the Muslim men he surrounded himself with. The part that stands out the most was that the main character's wife wasn't allowed to leave her house and had remained within it's walls for 20 + years.

I just finished reading 📖 Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz, a book I bought in 2002 and which took me 15 years to learn how to read. The prose was so dense and ornate that I remember being in high school just staring at the first page like it was hieroglyphics. I took it with me every place I've ever lived, and have started and stopped many times as it got too difficult for me and I realized it was for a future me to enjoy. This summer since I have extra time for my comps, and I've had the privilege of spending 3 years becoming a professional reader of Arabic, I dedicated to finishing it. It was intense, and amazing. I would come into the other room where my wife was working and go " omg! Zaynab just caught Yasin in the servant's hutch hiding against the wall! Omg Fahmy's dad is making him swear on the Qur'an that he wasn't participating in pro-wafdist demonstrations!" I even live tweeted the most eloquent and opaque phrases using the hashtag #تبيين_القصرين. Never give up on your dreams kids #صبر_جميل

لم يبق الكثير في ذهني من الرواية عندما قرأتها منذ زمن بعيد. اذكر المسلسل أكثر ولم يجذبني كثيراً رغم إدراك لقيمة الرواية كتوثيق الأحوال القاهرة بدايات القرن الماضي.

Difficult to read, but a very insightful look into family structure and societal changes in Egypt

Delicious story of a master storyteller, about a patriarch Ahmed and his family in Cairo, around and shortly after the first world war. The man lives a double life: at home very strict and even cruel, his children and his wife tremble for him, but outdoors he is amiable and he leads a dissolute life, with music, wine and women. But throughout the story some cracks appear in the man's reputation and it ends up dramatically.

This book seems to offer a beautiful introduction to the Arab culture, specifically in the Cairo setting; and at the same time it is intertwined with the political events of that time, the struggle against the British occupation. Mahfouz handsomely bestowes humor and self doubt upon the, in our eyes, reprehensible character of Ahmed. This is only the first part of the Cairo-trilogy; I hope to read the other parts soon.