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A review by macloo
Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz
5.0
I did not expect this novel to be so readable and so engrossing. This is all the more impressive because the story concerns one single Egyptian family, mostly in their home. Set in Cairo around 1919, during the British occupation of Egypt, the story revolves around the lives of a small shopkeeper, al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad; his wife, Amina; and their five children, are of whom are young adults living at home except for the youngest, the beguiling 10-year-old Kamal.
One very appealing aspect of the story is the interior lives of Amina and her two daughters, just of marriageable age — none of whom are ever permitted to leave the house. Their thoughts and feelings are deep and complex and completely relatable — and believable. Another immensely compelling aspect is the deep religious belief of everyone in the household, even the oldest son, who certainly doesn't follow any religious or moral rules but fears God all the same.
Dominating everyone in the family is the father, al-Sayyid Ahmad, a well-respected figure in the local sector who is stern and domineering in his house, friendly and warm to customers in his small shop, and a wild party animal with his male friends every night, from after dinner until midnight. He leads a double life that would shock all his family members if they ever knew, drinking wine until he's drunk, having long sexual affairs with loose women, singing and playing a tambourine at private parties. His wife and children fear him. They almost never see him smile. They have never heard him sing. But all of this is the normal state of affairs — al-Sayyid Ahmad's friends are equally debauched and equally well-known as pillars of the community. Men are men, and women and children are their loyal subjects.
Every time I thought the story might be settling into a rut of ongoing daily life, something new would happen. A forbidden excursion, a proposal, a wedding, a neighborhood invasion of British troops. It was a pleasure to settle down with this book and read it every day. It left me with a feeling of insiderness, as if I had been a fly on the wall inside the family home and even inside their hearts and minds — and inside their culture. Now there are two more books, and I'm eager to read them.
One very appealing aspect of the story is the interior lives of Amina and her two daughters, just of marriageable age — none of whom are ever permitted to leave the house. Their thoughts and feelings are deep and complex and completely relatable — and believable. Another immensely compelling aspect is the deep religious belief of everyone in the household, even the oldest son, who certainly doesn't follow any religious or moral rules but fears God all the same.
Dominating everyone in the family is the father, al-Sayyid Ahmad, a well-respected figure in the local sector who is stern and domineering in his house, friendly and warm to customers in his small shop, and a wild party animal with his male friends every night, from after dinner until midnight. He leads a double life that would shock all his family members if they ever knew, drinking wine until he's drunk, having long sexual affairs with loose women, singing and playing a tambourine at private parties. His wife and children fear him. They almost never see him smile. They have never heard him sing. But all of this is the normal state of affairs — al-Sayyid Ahmad's friends are equally debauched and equally well-known as pillars of the community. Men are men, and women and children are their loyal subjects.
Every time I thought the story might be settling into a rut of ongoing daily life, something new would happen. A forbidden excursion, a proposal, a wedding, a neighborhood invasion of British troops. It was a pleasure to settle down with this book and read it every day. It left me with a feeling of insiderness, as if I had been a fly on the wall inside the family home and even inside their hearts and minds — and inside their culture. Now there are two more books, and I'm eager to read them.