Naguib Mahfouz
Egyptian author of the 1947 novel *Midaq Alley*, set in a Cairo back street as a microcosm of the world.
Naguib Mahfouz Abdelaziz Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Basha (11 December 1911 – 30 August 2006) was an Egyptian writer and the only Egyptian to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, awarded in 1988. The Swedish Academy praised him for creating an Egyptian narrative art that applies to all mankind, through works rich in nuance, both clear-sightedly realistic and evocatively ambiguous. Over a 70-year career spanning from the 1930s until 2004, he published 35 novels, more than 350 short stories, 26 screenplays, hundreds of op-ed columns, and seven plays. All his novels are set in Egypt and consistently feature the concept of “the lane” as a microcosm of the world. His most celebrated works include *The Cairo Trilogy* and *Children of Gebelawi*, and many of his writings have been adapted into Egyptian and international films. Though his literature is classified as realist, existential themes appear throughout. Mahfouz was born in 1911 into a lower middle-class Muslim family in Old Cairo, the youngest of seven children, and grew up feeling like an only child. The family moved from the Bayt al-Qadi neighborhood to Abbaseya in 1924, locations that later provided the backdrop for his fiction. His father was a civil servant, and his mother, though illiterate, took him on cultural excursions. The 1919 Egyptian Revolution deeply affected him as a child. He studied philosophy at Cairo University, graduating in 1934, then worked briefly on a master’s degree before abandoning academia to become a professional writer. He joined the civil service in 1934, holding various posts until 1971, including clerk, parliamentary secretary, director of censorship, and consultant to the Ministry of Culture. His early historical novels were inspired by Sir Walter Scott, but he soon turned to contemporary Cairo settings and the psychological effects of social change. His prose is blunt, covering controversial topics such as socialism, homosexuality, and God, which were prohibited in Egypt.
- nationality
- Egyptian
- field
- Literature
Lore & Background
Mahfouz's *Midaq Alley* centers on a list of characters including Kirsha, a café owner who illegally sells and uses hashish and has a predilection for young boys; Mrs. Kirsha, infamous for her temper; Uncle Kamil, a good-hearted, bachelor sweets-seller, famously bloated and sleepy; Abbas, a young, kindly barber who joins the British army to make money to marry Hamida; Salim Alwan, the lustful, wealthy businessman who competes for Hamida but becomes embittered after a heart attack; Dr. Booshy, the self-proclaimed dentist who sells false teeth stolen off dead bodies; Sanker, the waiter at Kirsha's café; Sheikh Darwish, the old poet and former English teacher; Radwan Hussainy, a landlord who beats his wife and failed his al-Azhar exams yet is revered for his education and devotion; Hussain Kirsha, son of the café owner who works for the British and marries a woman of lower class; Saniya Afify, a widowed landlady who desires to remarry; Umm Hamida, the neighborhood matchmaker and bath attendant; Hamida, a beautiful young woman who dreams of a better life and is easily persuaded by wealth or power; Husniya, the bakeress who beats her husband with her slipper; Jaada, Husniya's husband; Zaita, the cripple maker who aids Dr. Booshy in theft of false teeth; Ibrahim Farhat, a politician; Ibrahim Faraj, a pimp who tries to seduce Hamida; and the Poet, who is replaced by a radio and barred by Kirsha.
Reader's Guide
Mahfouz's *Midaq Alley* is a 1947 novel that uses its Cairo setting to explore a microcosm of the world. The story takes place in the 1940s, standing on the threshold of a modern era. The novel's characters are each expressed like a caricature, with one quality or trait over-emphasized, as Mahfouz satirizes the character type. Key figures include Abbas, a barber who joins the British army to earn money to marry Hamida; Salim Alwan, a wealthy businessman who competes for Hamida but suffers a heart attack; and Ibrahim Faraj, a pimp who tries to seduce Hamida. The novel also features Dr. Booshy, who steals false teeth off dead bodies, and Zaita, the cripple maker who aids him. A 1995 Mexican film based on the novel is titled *El callejón de los milagros*.
Did You Know?
- Mahfouz's novel *Midaq Alley* was first published in Arabic in 1947 and in English in 1966.
- The story is set in Midaq Alley in Khan el-Khalili, a back street in Cairo presented as a microcosm of the world.
- The novel takes place in the 1940s and represents standing on the threshold of a modern era in Cairo.
- Each character in *Midaq Alley* is expressed like a caricature, with one quality or trait over-emphasized.
- A 1995 Mexican film based on the novel is titled *El callejón de los milagros*.
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