The saga follows the story of one family in Cairo starting in 1919, the start of the Egyptian Revolution against the British colonisers ruling Egypt and ending in 1944, almost the end of the Second World War. Naguib Mahfouz’s epic trilogy written between 1956 and 57 consists of three novels: Palace Walk, Palace of Desire and Sugar Street. The novel follows a patriotic young Egyptian and his extended family as they cope with the social and political events leading up to the 1919 Egyptian Revolution.Īl-Hakim cleverly ties together his protagonist’s eventual enlightenment and a complex love story with the country's own spiritual and political awakening. Photo: Penguin Classicsįirst published in Arabic in 1933, Egyptian playwright and auhtor Tawfiq al-Hakim’s novel is considered his most important work. This continues for 1,001 nights, as Shahrazad weaves story after story, including Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves together, with the hopes of making the king see the error of his ways. As the sun starts to rise, the story has reached a cliffhanger and the king, intrigued to know what happens next, postpones her execution to hear the rest of the story the following night. On their wedding night, Shahrazad begins to tell Shahryar a story. Until the intelligent and well-read Shahrazad, daughter of the wazir, offers herself as his next bride with a plan.
He marries a new bride every day and on their wedding night, beheads her. Shahryar is the ruler of a vast and powerful kingdom who, after discovering his wife’s betrayal, kills her and begins a genocide. While the origin of some in the collection have been debated by many scholars, the structure of the tale has always been the same. The Arabian NightsĪlso known as One Thousand and One Nights or The Arabian Nights' Entertainment, many people have been exposed to this epic and influential work of fiction to some capacity.Ī collection of Middle Eastern folk tales, the works have been collected, translated and reimagined by many storytellers and authors across different cultures. Most importantly, they reflect life, truth and beauty in a universal way.įor those looking to dive into the world through Arabic literature, here are eight to start with. A classic novel is one that makes a contribution to literature, whether through style, form or subject matter.
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