Midaq Alley (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Naguib Mahfouz
- First Published: 1947
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Historical realism
- Time of Work: World War II
- Setting: Cairo, Egypt
- Principal Characters: Uncle Kamil, Abbas Hilu, Salim Alwan, Sheikh Darwish, “Dr.” Bushi, Kirsha, Husain Kirsha, Radwan Husaini, Hamida, Umm Hamida, Ibrahim Faraj
- Genres: Long fiction, Historical fiction
- Subjects: Sex or sexuality, Murder or homicide, 1940’s, Prostitution or prostitutes, World War II, War, Barbershops or barbers, Egypt or Egyptians, Middle East
- Locales: Cairo, Egypt
The Story:
Night fell on Midaq Alley, a small, dead-end street in the ancient Gamaliyya section of Cairo. The entrance to this alley was established by two typical shops: on one side a sweetshop operated by Uncle Kamil, and across the street a barbershop run by Abbas. The men represented the traditional slow and never-changing life of this lower middle-class society at a time when the outside world and wartime were threatening to overwhelm them. Uncle Kamil was an old, lethargic man who spent most of his days asleep on a chair in front of his shop. He was now awakened by Abbas,...
[The entire page is 2054 words long]
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