With its Sufistic parables of the human condition, rendered in a style redolent of both the austere meditations of Borges and the dark engorged ruminations of Arthur C. Clark, Pyramid Texts engages the mind and beguiles the imagination. In a series of chapters each shorter than the last so that, like their subjects, they taper ultimately into nothingness, the author evokes the obsessions that have drawn men over the centuries to the brooding presence of mankind's most ancient and mysterious monuments. Among others in a procession of exotic characters, a Moroccan seeker after knowledge spends years contemplating the pyramids in the hope that one day he will understand the mysterious writing that fitfully appears on their sides. Another waits patiently for the moment when the shadow of one will diverge from its accustomed path and bestow immortality. A man celebrated for his record ascents and descents makes one final, dazzling, climb, and the Sphinx performs a celestial dance. Pyramid Texts leads us into a world of endless passages and mysterious sighing winds, a world whose claustrophobic and shadowy spaces may be illuminated by flashes of ecstasy leading to scintillating transfigurations and dizzying annihilations.
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About the Author
Gamal Al-ghitani was born in 1945 and educated in Cairo. He has written 13 novels and 6 collections of short stories. He is currently editor-in-chief of the literary review Akhbar al-adab. HUMPHREY DAVIES earned his doctorate in Near Eastern Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. He is the translator of Thebes at War by Naguib Mahfouz (AUC Press 2003) and The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany (AUC Press 2004).
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A modern work of literary excellence,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Pyramid Texts: A Modern Arabic Novel (Modern Arabic Literature) (Hardcover)
Editor-in-chief of the literary review 'Akhbar al-adah' and the author of six collections of short stories, Egyptian author Gamal al-Ghitani has written "Pyramid Texts", a novel that fully reveals his impressive abilities at story telling that blends Sufi mysticism and medieval Islamic history with the imagery and mystery those enigmatic monuments of Egyptian antiquity that are the only surviving member of the ancient seven wonders of the world. Designed so that a series of chapters, each of which is shorter than the last, represents a uniquely modernist style of narrative. Ably translated into English by Humphrey Davies, and made available to an American readership through the auspices of International Publishers Marketing, "Pyramid Texts" transcends cultures to provide a modern work of literary excellence that is a modern Arabic novel which is enthusiastically recommended for academic and community library collections in general, and enthusiasts of avant garde literature in particular.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Structured Delight!,
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This review is from: Pyramid Texts: A Modern Arabic Novel (Modern Arabic Literature) (Hardcover)
This is the first Modern Arabic Novel that I have read. I did not know what to expect, but I can tell you now that this book is a delight and a fast read. I learned about a culture so different from mine, and was delighted with the simplicity of the lives of the characters. The focus throughout the whole book is on the Pyramids, and the progression of the chapters, beginning with the longer texts, move you through the book as you climb higher and higher and shorter chapters with each new story. The last chapter leaves you with... well, I wont reveal the end...this book is a keeper. READ IT!
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When the boy first came to know him, the man was still at the beginning of his quest, though the boy only became fully informed as to his story once it was over. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Great Pyramid, Shaykh Tuhami, Valley of Zamm, Furthest West New!
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Front Cover | Front Flap | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
When the boy first came to know him, the man was still at the beginning of his quest, though the boy only became fully informed as to his story once it was over. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Great Pyramid, Shaykh Tuhami, Valley of Zamm, Furthest West New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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