The Innocence of the Devil (Literature of the Middle East) [Hardcover]

Nawal El Saadawi (Author), Sherif Hitata (Translator), Fedwa Malti-Douglas (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 18, 1994 | Series: Literature of the Middle East

Nawal El Saadawi's books are known for their powerful denunciation of patriarchy in its many forms: social, political, and religious. Set in an insane asylum, The Innocence of the Devil is a complex and chilling novel that recasts the relationships of God and Satan, of good and evil. Intertwining the lives of two young women as they discover their sexual and emotional powers, Saadawi weaves a dreamlike narrative that reveals how the patriarchal structures of Christianity and Islam are strikingly similar: physical violation of women is not simply a social or political phenomenon, it is a religious one as well.
While more measured in tone than Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses, Saadawi's novel is similar in its linguistic, literary, and philosophical richness. Evoking a world of pain and survival that may be unfamiliar to many readers, it speaks in a universal voice that reaches across cultures and is the author's most potent weapon.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this densely structured allegorical novel, Saadawi (The Fall of the Imam), Egypt's foremost feminist writer, again confronts the role of women in Muslim society-this time, by imagining a disturbing, dangerous world characterized by miscommunication between the sexes and ancient strictures on behavior. Set in and around an insane asylum, the story centers on two women: Ganat, an inmate who slips in and out of consciousness, and Narguiss, who has failed a test of virginity on her wedding night. The lives of both are constricted by the power that men have over them. What the author sees as the dual, warring nature of men's feelings toward women-admiration for women's procreative power conflicting with their need to make women submit to them-lies at the heart of Ganat and Narguiss's problems, which are further complicated by a society in which Christianity and Islam coexist in uneasy balance. The narrative, which shifts through multiple points of view and from present to past and back again, is extremely difficult to follow, lessening the emotional impact of the characters' plights. Still, Saadawi writes beautifully and in abundant and evocative physical detail of an Egypt that remains closely tied to the land and to a way of life that in many aspects has not changed for centuries.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A daring, dazzling, and complex work." -- Ms.

"Set in a madhouse, this modern passion play portrays Egypt's harsh patriarchal society and its devastating repression of women. Saadawi . . . makes the injustices that take place in her novel's asylum reflect on all of Egypt. . . . A poetic and beautiful novel about a great ugliness -- the systematic and widespread oppression of half of Egypt." (Kirkus Reviews

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 233 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (November 18, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520088891
• ISBN-13: 978-0520088894
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,507,676 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars haunting, October 3, 2001

By 

Catherine Stripe Lester "catlest" (Grayling, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Innocence of the Devil (Literature of the Middle East) (Paperback)

I was confused when I started this book because I was expecting a more conventional narrative. However, the style and beauty of the writing was captivating. Full of flashbacks, trains of thought and bits of remembered conversation, if you read it with the view of immersing yourself in the world of the heroine, the story makes complete sense and stays hauntingly in your memory. One of the surprises is that, though you think the heroine is the only one harmed by the religious conventions of her day, you come to realize that her husband has been equally harmed. Terribly sad and beautiful, but vivid and fascinating.

1 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Send to me inforasjon on my mail, November 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Innocence of the Devil (Literature of the Middle East) (Hardcover)

I think it was very good bok, i 'd like to have informasjon about tis bokk and women on the zero point