The Mamur Zapt and the Return of the Carpet [Hardcover]

Michael Pearce (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1990

Fans of Elizabeth Peters will view Egypt through a different lens--but the real flavor of this 14-book series is Graham Greene or, given Pearce's sense of irony, Eric Ambler....
The Mamur Zapt, head of Cairo's CID in the heydey of (the indirect) British rule, focused on political, not police, matters. With the bustling new century, the loosening of imperial ties, and the rise of nationalism, his was a busy office. The attempted assassination of a veteran politician raises the spectre of a major terrorist statement at the capital's principal religious festival where the faithful celebrate the Return of the Holy Carpet from Mecca.
Easily navigating multiple nationalities, three principal languages, and four competing legal systems, not to mention the intricacies of shadow and actual governments, Captain Owen, the Welsh incumbent, bolsters the Mamur Zapt's office with the aid of a host of memorable characters.
In his 1988 debut, Michael Pearce, who grew up in the (then) Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, "memorably navigates the swirling cultural and political cross-currents of his chosen period and place, bringing to an historian's confidence the creative intelligence of a born novelist."--John Coleman, Sunday Times

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in 1908 Cairo, this colorful mystery debut vividly portrays life in the polyglot, multicultural city ostensibly ruled by a nearly bankrupt Khedive but actually governed by the British. Captain Gareth Owen, the Mamur Zapt (head of the secret police), investigates the attempted murder of prominent politician and philanderer Nuri Pasha. Ostensibly the target of revenge by an enraged relative of his newest conquest, the attack on Pasha takes on different dimensions when the weapon turns out to have been stolen from the British Army. A case of grenades also is missing, leading Owen to fear that a terrorist organization is planning something special for a forthcoming religious ceremony marking the return of the Holy Carpet from Mecca. As Owen begins a complex friendship with the Egyptian civilian investigator, Mahmoud el Zaki, the two explore the higher and lower reaches of the city, eventually uncovering a plot to assassinate a top British official. His work highly praised in England, Pearce depicts the intricate politics and social mores among the various Egyptian societies and factions to provide authentic background for an outstandingly well-wrought and satisfying mystery.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 183 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday (October 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385415206
• ISBN-13: 978-0385415200
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,925,743 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Egypt as You Never Imagined It, December 29, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Mamur Zapt & the Return of the Carpet (Paperback)

Michael Pearce's Mamur Zapt mysteries are funny, beautifully written sketches of life in Egypt in the early years of the 20th century. The books have all the panache and originality of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. Why they haven't made it onto the big screen, or been turned into a Mystery! series on public television I can't imagine.

The central character is Gareth Owen, a young Welshman who is the Mamur Zapt -- the title given the (British) head of Cairo's secret police. The central theme is the tension between the British who governed Egypt at the time and the Egyptian people in whose name they governed.

"The Return of the Carpet" is the first in the series. Frequent appearances are made throughout the series by the Mamur Zapt's Egyptian counterpart in the office of the city prosecutor, by Owen's bosses, by members of Eqypt's dissolute royal family, by Owen's aristocratic and fiercely independent Egyptian paramour and by assorted members of Cairo's working class.

The stories are racy, wittily understated and steeped in the attitudes and rhythms of daily life in the Cairo of 100 years ago. Pearce's voice and his ear for dialogue are spot-on. The humor emerges naturally in his exploration of the complex relations between the English and native Eqyptians of all classes.

This is popular literature of the highest order. The books are, if possible, even more entertaining if you listen to the audio recordings produced, I believe, by Recorded Books.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A tale of suspense and color in 1908 Egypt, September 21, 2002

By 

David Brukman (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mamur Zapt & the Return of the Carpet (Paperback)

The place is early-twentieth century Egypt, nominally part of the Ottoman Empire, in fact ruled by the British. Among the plots and nationalist tensions, young Captain Owen, formerly of the British Army in Egypt, is appointed the Mamur Zapt: a formerly Turkish post in charge of the political police.

A case of granades goes astray from an Army storage. The biggest fear--that the weapons will be used by terrorists for assasinations--seems accurate. Owen, inexperienced but intelligent, is hampered by many foreign and local fingers in the heady Egyptian pie in the investigation.

This pleasant tale of suspense, local color, politics, and adventure is told with touches of humor and restraint of the old English tradition.

--inotherworlds.com

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating while confusing, September 5, 2009

By 

J. Anderson "Judith Marie" (Phoenix AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Mamur Zapt & the Return of the Carpet (Paperback)

So many unusual names and titles, and I had trouble keeping them all straight. Even the lead character, the Mamur Zapt, has his first name revealed without comment over half way through the book, leading me to wonder whom this new character might be. With further books in the series I plan to keep a running list, such as one needs for War and Peace.

And, I will be reading more. The writing was wonderful, the atmosphere intense, and each time I put this book down it was with the anticipation of picking it up again.

The political background is fascinating, the social background equally so, especially in terms of Egyptian women.

This is Egypt on the cusp of becoming its own country again - still dealing with British and French and Turkish influences and power. Budding Nationalism, the educated young stirring.

Yet old traditions survive, such as the wonderful ceremonies connected to The Return of the Carpet of the title.

The Mamur Zapt, already a bit separate as a Welshman among the English military rulers, walks a tightrope between all the factions, with a keen insight into human nature, no matter what the culture, and how to persuade people to do what needs to be done.