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Palace Walk The Cairo Trilogy Volume 1 Naguib Mahfouz Books

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Palace Walk The Cairo Trilogy Volume 1 Naguib Mahfouz Books

A fascinating look at Muslim life in Cairo at the beginning of the 20th century. The cloistered lives of the women seem almost like exaggerations at times; they are expected to live their lives entirely inside the home and under cover. In fact, a hidden life is seen as a privilege that is not provided to women of the lower classes. Yet the women live in comfortable innocence, with great faith in god, and enormous, protective love for their families. The daily coffee hour, attended by all the family except the father, is full of teasing, love, news, and debate. The lives of the women seem so good, so safe and happy, especially in contrast to the hypocritical, vice-ridden lives of the autocratic, adulterous, self-important adult men. (Yet even these men are depicted with compassion and understanding, so that one understands the roots of their hypocrisy and sees their humanity.) The one pure and honest man pays for his integrity -- in fact, the whole family pays. And the young boy, emerging slowly from his childhood in this first book of the trilogy, appears to be the hope for the future.


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Palace Walk The Cairo Trilogy Volume 1 Naguib Mahfouz Books Reviews

Palace Walk, Bayn al-Qasrayn, is a street in Cairo, Egypt, where Ahmad Abd al-Jawad lives with his second wife, three sons, and two daughters. At the beginning of the book, World War I is winding down and Egypt is still an English protectorate.

PALACE WALK is written in omniscient point of view with shifting viewpoints. Ahmad Abd al Jawad, however, is the main character. He rules his household with an iron fist. His wife is forbidden to leave the house; his daughters must never be seen by a man until after their marriages are arranged. However, Jawad has a hidden side to his personality. After working all day at a kind of grocery store he owns, he spends his nights partying with his friends and cheating on his wife. He is the "life of the party," the direct opposite of the way he behaves around his family. His sons have never even seen him smile.

Yasin, Jawad's adult son from his first marriage, is the spitting image of the old man. He spends his nights drinking and carousing, but he suffers from an almost total lack of self control. Fahmy, the second son, is a law student. His story line focuses on Egypt's fight for independence once the war is over. Khadija is the older daughter, who, unfortunately, has her father's nose and little prospects for a husband; she also has a biting sense of humor; Aisha is the beautiful second daughter who shames Khadija by marrying first. Kamal, is a mischievous ten-year-old.

Much of Jamal's dialogue consists of quotes from the Koran; Jawad also attends mosque with his sons and has a prayer rug in his bedroom. Still, religion seems to be rather low on Jawad's list of priorities. Much of the narrative includes internal monologues where Jawad congratulates himself on what a good father, businessman, and patriot he is. He sees absolutely no problem with his carousing as long as he meets his religious expectations.

The real worth of PALACE WALK in my mind is Mahfouz's employing the Arab family to show that there isn't a whole lot of difference in families the world over. Yasin, Fahmy and the girls meet during coffee hour, during which time they tease each other unrelentingly, just like brothers and sisters in America. They gossip and spy on their neighbors; they argue about how to deal with their father.

For me, the real star of the novel is Kamal. He doesn't have a problem with making friends with the British soldiers, despite the fact that his brother Yasin is called a traitor for doing the same thing. He's the only one in the family who has the courage to stand up to his father's bullying, although he gets his "ears smoked" in the process.

The ending is definitely ironic. It has to do with Jawad's ambivalence toward his son Fahmy's "freedon fighting." Jawad hates the idea of his son's defiance (Fahmy wouldn't swear on the Koran to stay away from the demonstrations against the protectorate), but he wouldn't mind having a patriot son to brag about to his carousing friends.
WOW! I found it so difficult to read this story of a father whose children totally feared him, of a wife who was a prisoner in her own home, and the father's affairs while always professing his love for Allah. What an insightful book, if it tells an accurate picture of Cairo Egypt at this period of time. The characters are well drawn, but lead such sad lives throughout. I will not read the others in this trilogy, but was glad to have read this, just for the look at this culture.
“Habit woke her at this hour. It was an old habit she had developed when young and it had stayed with her as she matured. She had learned it along with the other rules of married life. She woke up at midnight to await her husband’s return from his evening’s entertainment. Then she would serve him until he went to sleep.”

Originally published in 1956 in Arabic, Palace Walk is the first part of trilogy written by Nobel Prize winner Naguib Mahfouz. From the opening pages, the reader is given a glimpse into the life of a Cairo family near the end of the first world war. The father, a conservative Muslim, keeps his women confined to their home, and yet himself carouses at night, drinking and having affairs with various women. He rules his sons with an iron fist, and yet they each, in their own way, rebel against him. When WW I ends, Egypt is embroiled in a push for independence from Britain, and the family is caught up in the struggle.

This book is masterful on many levels. First, the story is excellent. It had me hooked immediately. Second, there is a great opportunity to learn about Egypt on the eve of independence, and the life of a Muslim family faced with political and cultural change. Third, I loved the subtle comparison of the oppression enforced by the family patriarch when placed next to their outrage against British oppression. Simply brilliant.
Beautifully written, gently flowing story of a Muslim family in Cairo in the early part of the 1900's. Wonderful characterisation of all the family members from the despotic father who enjoyed the best of both worlds, his peace making but submissive wife Amina and his very different offspring.My favourite being Kamal with his quest for knowledge and his wide eyed innocence.

Will hopefully get to the other two novels in the series very soon. A different way of life, a different culture but at heart the story of a family.
A fascinating look at Muslim life in Cairo at the beginning of the 20th century. The cloistered lives of the women seem almost like exaggerations at times; they are expected to live their lives entirely inside the home and under cover. In fact, a hidden life is seen as a privilege that is not provided to women of the lower classes. Yet the women live in comfortable innocence, with great faith in god, and enormous, protective love for their families. The daily coffee hour, attended by all the family except the father, is full of teasing, love, news, and debate. The lives of the women seem so good, so safe and happy, especially in contrast to the hypocritical, vice-ridden lives of the autocratic, adulterous, self-important adult men. (Yet even these men are depicted with compassion and understanding, so that one understands the roots of their hypocrisy and sees their humanity.) The one pure and honest man pays for his integrity -- in fact, the whole family pays. And the young boy, emerging slowly from his childhood in this first book of the trilogy, appears to be the hope for the future.