Zayni Barakat [Paperback]

Gamal al-Ghitani (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2010

"In the course of my long travels I have never seen a city so devastated. After a long time I ventured out into the streets. Death, cold and heavy, hung in the air. Walls have no value here, doors have been eliminated. No one is certain that they will see another day."

The Egypt of the Mamluk dynasty witnessed a period of artistic ostentation and social and political upheaval, at the heart of which lay the unsolved question of the ruler's legitimacy. Now, in 1516, the Mamluk reign is coming to an end with the advance of the invading. Ottomans. The numerous narrators, among them a Venetian traveler and several native Muslims, tell the story of the rise to power of the ruthless, enigmatic, and puritanical governor of Cairo, Zayni Barakat ibn Musa, whose control of the corrupt city is effected only through a complicated network of spies and informers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A gripping, unforgettable work of prose fiction. It displays its author's originality of conception and execution at every step." - Edward Said, in his Foreword to the book; "Whether read as a colorful evocation of past times or as a bleak political parable, Zayni Barakat succeeds brilliantly." - Robert Irwin, Times Literary Supplement"

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Arabic --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 254 pages
• Publisher: The American University in Cairo Press (February 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9774248724
• ISBN-13: 978-9774248726
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,113,979 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Brilliant Historical Fiction, August 2, 2005

By 

M. Sable - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zayni Barakat (Penguin International Writers) (Paperback)

Zayni Barakat is a historical novel set in Mamluk Egypt. Having lived in Egypt (where I read the novel 11 years ago) and studied Egyptian history, I can say that the work more than accomplishes the primary job of historical fiction--it transports the reader to another time and place, making that time and that place come alive.

However, Zayni Barakat is, like much of Naguib Mahfouz's later work, a pointed commentary on modern Egyptian politics. In particular, it is the story of police surveillance and what it means to live -- and work for -- a police state. Al-Ghitani captures the dis-ease and perversity of the Nasserist police state admirably. The novel thus deserves to be read both as a diversion and as an education in contemporary Arab politics.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars pertinent to our time, February 5, 2000

By 

Nazir A. Husain (Sterling, Va USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Zayni Barakat (Penguin International Writers) (Paperback)

This book is a written the context of the Mamluk dynasty in Egypt. However many of the attitudes, methods and ideas presented in the book can be found in today's Middle East. The author has an excellent command on the istory of the region and also on the attitudes feelings and emotions of the period he is desciribing through a narrarative account. The book is fiction but it feels too real to be that