Yixinyuan--The Cairo Trilogy, Part III (From Mahfouz's Collection)

Author: Mahfouz
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-05-01
Features: Naguib Mahfouz is a Nobel Prize winner in Literature, and the Cairo Trilogy is one of his major works. The novel depicts the various changes in Egyptian social and historical history from 1917 to 1944 through the different fates of three generations of a family. Each part focuses on the life of one generation, with the title of the book reflecting the residence of that generation. The work resembles a folk painting of modern Egypt. The third part, A Land of Longing, primarily portrays the life path of the third generation of the Ahmad family.
Yasin's son Radwan enters the government and ingratiates himself with many prominent figures; Haidi's eldest son Monaem enters the law school and becomes a fervent religiousist; the younger son works at a newspaper and meets the socialist Susan, marrying her resolutely, using his home as a venue for discussing Marxism; Monaem, meanwhile, turns his home into a club for the Muslim Brotherhood. Later, both brothers are sent to concentration camps by the authorities. Kamal draws inspiration from his nephew's fighting spirit, breaking free from his indecisiveness and embarking on the path of revolution. Kamal represents the middle-class intellectuals of Egypt during the low tide of the revolution and is also an embodiment of the author.