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Naguib Mahfouz is an absolutely amazing author, though I've only read two of his books because after each one I get depressed and cry for about a week, then I literally need a year or two off before I'm ready to face another one. I should be through the Cairo trilogy by the end of this decade. I'm not even really joking... The Beginning and the End completely knocked me off my feet and just about killed me. I gave the book away so I wouldn't be tempted to reread it. I've never had such a powerful reaction to a book either before or since. On the lighter side, Sinclair Lewis has always been one of my faves. His earlier stuff is close to a hundred years old now and it's amazing how relevant his satire still is... and still funny.
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Feb 18, 2014 00:22
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glowing-fish posted:How did you discover them? Are they a writer that is of special interest in some field you are interested in, or are commonly known in a country you have lived in? Or did you just find them by chance? Naguib Mahfouz is one of the most famous Egyptian writers. I read excerpts from him in an Arabic class I took, but my Arabic isn't nearly at a good enough level to read an entire novel (of his, at least) so I read the translation. I don't know how I found Sinclair Lewis. I think I read Kingsblood Royal first, which is not one of his more famous novels, though I really liked it. From there I read a lot of others: Main Street, Babbitt, It Can't Happen Here, Arrowsmith, Dodsworth, Elmer Gantry.
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Feb 18, 2014 03:19
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Red Crown posted:My exposure to Egyptian literature only extends to Yacoubian Building, and I'm very interested in reading more. The Amazon description says that the translation is lackluster - what issues does it have? I actually read the French translation of The Beginning and the End, but I read the English version of Palace Walk and I thought it was pretty good. I loved Yacoubian Building, by the way. I've been meaning to read something else by Alaa al Aswany, if anything else of his is available in English.
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Feb 18, 2014 04:25
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