Children of the Alley

Children of Gebelaawi is the best book I have ever read. Unfortunately, it was banned in Egypt after the first chapter was published in a newspaper. It was then published in Beirut, Lebanon in the sixties. I know that it took Mahfouz many years to complete this great book. Therefore, after it was banned, he tried to rewrite the same idea in other flavors that could be accepted by the Egyptian government but no other novel of his can be compared to this one.

Having wanted to read a novel by Mr.Mahfouz for years,I was lucky to have selected Children of the Alley to commence my love affair with his stories.You can smell this novelist's passion for the streets of Cairo from half the world away.His stories somehow come to life despite the translational barrier,I found myself following each unforgettable character,feeling their agony,their success,their humiliation and their shame. The provocative predictibilty of this novel is what makes it a remarkable read,how can he easily and every so simply identify these worldly controversial issues and put them into such a flawless context? The book is a challenging gift for the minds. Five starts to Mr.Mafouz,a gifted novelist,a passionate egyptian and shamlessly honest with his words.

Nobel laureate Nafuib Mahfouz, is an artist who put his life at risk by publishing this great work. Despite his position as the greatest living Arabic author, or perhaps because of it, fundamentalists have made several attempts on his life, almost succeeding in 1994. Children of Gebelaawi, also published as Children of the Alley, tells biblical and Islamic history as a parable painting the Divine as the overlord and humanity as the generations who live in the alley just beyond the walls. The stories of characters representing Adam, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammad are each told in turn, offering a fascinating portrait of each and their influence on humanity. The writing is lyrical and poetic and the story is extremely moving.Not since, Nikos Kazantzakis's Last Temptation has anyone offered such a beautiful and thought provoking image of religion. In short, a must read.

The Children of Gebelawi is a must read for anyone who dares to look at religion beyond traditional interpretations. Maohfauouz takes all of the major world religions and retells the stories of the prophets in a modern day context set in India. The retelling of the prophets allows one to examine the actual stories of the religions in a way that encourages critique and in some cases acceptance. It is a fabulous read - especially for those who enjoy challenging and clarifying their own beliefs.

This book is wonderful, it draws you into a racing plot and almost forces you to become emotinally attached to the characters. It is, on the surface, a history of an Alley in Cairo and its inhabitants as they relate to heroic figures that cropped up in their history. However, just under the surface it is clearly a treatise on progressive revelation, with each hero representing a Manifestation of God. As the plot unwinds the lives of the Prophets become very real to the reader, and the truth that Their Missions are best demonstrated by the lives they lead is perfectly and succinctly put across. Reference is made to the Manifestations recognised by Islam, Adam, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad and "another," corresponding to Adham, Gebel, Rifaa, Qaasim and Arafa in the book. The individual qualities of the Prophets are very clearly put across, as is their underlying similarity, and the book wisely leaves the story unconcluded but with a glimmer of hope that the cause of the Manifestation of Arafa still continues. Although I have some idea as to the true identity of Arafa, I feel it would be unwise to put my views across here because of the controversy they may cause. However, I am willing to give my views on request, and I must stress that these are my views only, and not those of the author or the Baha'i Community, of which I am a member. I can only express my gratitude to the author by demonstrating the depth to which he has touched the purpose of my existence:- "Oppression must end as night yields to day. We shall se in our Alley the death of tyranny and the dawn of miracles" - Children of Gebelaawi. "These fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the Most Great Peace shall come." - Baha'i Faith