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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In this short, intermittently provocative fable, first published in Arabic in 1983, the Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian author of the Cairo Trilogy ponders the question: What is the best way to organize a society? Betrayed by his sweetheart, young Ibn Fattouma of "the land of Islam" begins a journey in search of wisdom. In Mashriq, whose citizens go naked and worship the moon, he marries Arousa, a pagan woman. Thrown out of Mashriq for trying to bring up his son as a Muslim, he next stops in Haira, a land whose bloody king is worshiped as God. Ibn Fattouma escapes imprisonment for Halba, where all religions are welcomed and Muslim homosexuals peacefully demonstrate for gay rights. There he marries a Muslim female pediatrician who teaches him the value of an Islam "of independent judgment." Next the hero visits Aman, a communist state with full employment but no personal freedoms. He never reaches his ultimate goal, Gebel, land of perfection. Mahfouz's pithy parable mocks the hypocrisy of nations that wage war and maintain empire in the name of brotherhood and freedom.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Fattouma is disappointed in love, so he sets out seeking comfort in wisdom. His goal is the fabled land of Gebel, from which no one has ever returned. First, though, his caravan must pass through five other countries, each distinct in governance and religion, and each delaying Ibn for years. Mashriq is despotic, peopled by naked slaves, and here Ibn falls in love with Arousa and starts a family. War separates them, and he pursues her through Haira, a theocratic police state; Halba, the land of freedom; and Communist Aman. Finally, from Ghuroub, where only reason is worshipped, he leaves to enter Gebel, his journey toward perfection almost complete. This novel is Mahfouz's most purely polemical work, directly engaging the issues of religion and politics that have been the strong subtexts of his previous fiction. It is, however, as enchanting a tale as any he has written. Highly recommended. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/1/92.
- Paul E. Hutchison, Bellefonte, Pa.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
See all Editorial Reviews
In this short, intermittently provocative fable, first published in Arabic in 1983, the Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian author of the Cairo Trilogy ponders the question: What is the best way to organize a society? Betrayed by his sweetheart, young Ibn Fattouma of "the land of Islam" begins a journey in search of wisdom. In Mashriq, whose citizens go naked and worship the moon, he marries Arousa, a pagan woman. Thrown out of Mashriq for trying to bring up his son as a Muslim, he next stops in Haira, a land whose bloody king is worshiped as God. Ibn Fattouma escapes imprisonment for Halba, where all religions are welcomed and Muslim homosexuals peacefully demonstrate for gay rights. There he marries a Muslim female pediatrician who teaches him the value of an Islam "of independent judgment." Next the hero visits Aman, a communist state with full employment but no personal freedoms. He never reaches his ultimate goal, Gebel, land of perfection. Mahfouz's pithy parable mocks the hypocrisy of nations that wage war and maintain empire in the name of brotherhood and freedom.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Fattouma is disappointed in love, so he sets out seeking comfort in wisdom. His goal is the fabled land of Gebel, from which no one has ever returned. First, though, his caravan must pass through five other countries, each distinct in governance and religion, and each delaying Ibn for years. Mashriq is despotic, peopled by naked slaves, and here Ibn falls in love with Arousa and starts a family. War separates them, and he pursues her through Haira, a theocratic police state; Halba, the land of freedom; and Communist Aman. Finally, from Ghuroub, where only reason is worshipped, he leaves to enter Gebel, his journey toward perfection almost complete. This novel is Mahfouz's most purely polemical work, directly engaging the issues of religion and politics that have been the strong subtexts of his previous fiction. It is, however, as enchanting a tale as any he has written. Highly recommended. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/1/92.
- Paul E. Hutchison, Bellefonte, Pa.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
See all Editorial Reviews
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