The Beggar, the Thief and the Dogs, Autumn Quail

The Beggar is the story of lawyer Omar al-Hamzawi who belongs to the generation that could have provided Egypt with leadership but have instead been deprived of any significant function. Omar fails to care enough at the right time because he belongs to a liberal secularism which is simply an operative ideal or yearning. The novel is a plea against irrelevance and alienation. It is also about things which matter and matter in places outside the Arab world. The Thief and the Dogs is a psychological novel of the impressionist kind - it uses the stream-of-consciousness technique like novels by James Joyce or Virginia Woolf - which moves with the speed and economy of a detective story. The technique allows the author to show the mental anguish of the central character, Said Mahran, who is consumed by bitterness and a desire for revenge against the individuals and the society who have corrupted and destroyed him and brought his damnation. It gives the reader a keen observation of the workings of a sick and embittered mind doomed to self-destruction. As he comes to Said's disillusionment and despair, the reader gains interesting impressions of the values and structures of Egyptian society in the 1960s. Autumn Quail opens with the famous Cairo fire which followed the massacre of Egyptian policemen at the Suez Canal by British soldiers in 1952. It goes on to trace the main events of the early stages of the revolution, the purge of corrupt officials and the abolition of political parties and comes to an end after the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company in 1956. The central character whose fall is portrayed is Isa ad-Dabbagh, a senior civil servant in the Egyptian government during the final days of the monarchy. Isa's willingness to accept bribes catches up with him and he is pensioned off. But Isa remains stubbornly loyal to the old regime and his concern for his country makes him a true patriot. But his relationship with the Alexandrian prostitute Riri represents Isa's real fight with emotion, his failure to meet his moral responsibilities and his eventual realisation through a very bitter lesson of what those responsibilities are. The novel provides the reader with insights and reflections on the Egyptian revolution and its progress with characters from different backgrounds and with varying social and political attitudes.

This is a collection of three short stories (novellas) written by the Nobel Prize winning Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz. All three are set in 1950s Egypt. Mahfouz is best known for his Cairo Trilogy, but this collection is equally outstanding. The highlight on the back cover perfectly describes the three stories: ``. . . together these novels render a rich, nuanced, and universally resonant vision of Egyptian society of the period.''. This is an wonderful collection that will be of interest to potential readers, I believe, at two levels. First, Mahfouz perfectly captures the spirit of hope, uncertainty, and disillusionment in an Egypt that is undergoing massive political and cultural change. These novellas represent a window into the social and cultural history of Egypt in the 1950s. As the introduction describes, these three novels are a thinly disguised commentary on the Egyptian government and its failure to live up to the hopes and promises of 1952. Beyond Egypt, however, most readers will relate to these stories as they are, to a greater or lesser degree, about living with and coping with change. It is this latter aspect which makes these stories timeless and of general interest. These stories are about distinguishing what is from what we would like from what is possible, and acceptance or resistance to the way things are. This is great literature from a great writer and highly recommended.

I actually only read "The Thief and the Dogs" and I loved it! The story was thought provoking and the sequence was logical and filled with suspense. The only thing that you should worry about is that I read the story in its original Arabic version. Therfore, I can't guarantee that same level of suspense here. However, I also did not read the translated version so I can't make a proper judgement about it. The only thing I could say that "Al-los wal kilab" or "The Theif and The Dogs" is a true classic . One that will be remembered for generations and generations. Truly a wonderful masterpiece!

The underlying theme in the Trilogy details with courage and delicacy the crisis of identity and conscience suffered by the Egyptian intellectuals during the period of malice and dissatisfaction. It is a nice read for anyone wanting to understand the fame of mind of Egyptian society at that time.

First of all the price is really very cheap for this 3 books but .. i really dont think it is a good idea to put this three titles in one book , simply because the 3 books have no relation to each other , or actually each of them may get more relation to other books by the same author , more than the other two that the publisher added to it , well o guess they did so just for " size purposes :) " for example : the beggar ; u could consider it a part of another Trilogy for mahfouz i consider this second triology : " awlad haretna " , "altareek ", and "the beggar" or " alshahat " it is the triology of searching for the Father "GOD" in awlad haretna he looked for him in history , in prophets and even in the newest prophet : science in "altareek " or " the way" ; he tried to find a way to look for the lost father deep inside people in the "beggar" ; he got away from symbolism and start to be more surrealist and beg God ! soooooooooooooooooooo... it might be better if the publisher added 3 different titles that got relation to each other in this book :) but again : it really worth buying AHHH , by the way : mahfouz is my favourite egyptian writer