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Palace Of Desire

From the Nobel Prizewinning author
By Naguib Mahfouz
Series: Cairo Trilogy
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Check link for latest rating. ( 11,067 ratings, 1,060 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Palace of Desire by Naguib Mahfouz continues the saga of the al-Sayyid family set against the backdrop of 1920s Cairo. The novel delves into the complex dynamics of a family grappling with societal changes, personal dilemmas, and the struggle between tradition and modernity. As the characters navigate love, ambition, and identity, they must confront the shifting landscapes of both their city and their lives.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$3299
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're interested in exploring the rich tapestry of life in early 20th-century Cairo, as it delves into themes of family, tradition, and personal struggles. It offers an insightful look at the characters' intricate relationships and the societal transformations they experience.

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Follows the Al Jawad family into the awakening world of the 1920's and the sometimes violent clash between Islamic ideals, personal dreams and modern realities. Having given up his vices after his son's death, ageing patriarch Al-Sayyid Ahmad pursues an arousing lute-player - only to find she has married his eldest son.

The second volume in the celebrated Cairo Trilogy.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The second volume in the celebrated Cairo Trilogy.

The sensual and provocative second volume in the Cairo Trilogy, Palace Of Desire follows the Al Jawad family into the awakening world of the 1920s and the sometimes violent clash between Islamic ideals, personal dreams, and modern realities.

Having given up his vices after his son's death, ageing patriarch Al-Sayyid Ahmad pursues an arousing lute-player—only to find she has married his eldest son. His rebellious children struggle to move beyond his domination as they test the loosening reins of societal and parental control.

Ahmad's youngest son, in an unforgettable portrayal of unrequited love, ardently courts the sophisticated daughter of a rich Europeanised family.

Series: Cairo Trilogy

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  • Palace Walk
    Palace Walk is the first volume in the celebrated Cairo Trilogy. This sweeping and evocative portrait captures both a family and a country struggling to move toward independence in a society that has resisted change for centuries. Set against the backdrop of Britain's occupation of Egypt immediately after World War I, Palace Walk introduces us to the Al Jawad family....
    By Naguib Mahfouz
    Paperback
    $3000
    Elsewhere:
    $3299
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Palace Of Desire
    The second volume in the celebrated Cairo Trilogy. The sensual and provocative second volume in the Cairo Trilogy, Palace Of Desire follows the Al Jawad family into the awakening world of the 1920s and the sometimes violent clash between Islamic ideals, personal dreams, and modern realities. Having given up his vices after his son's death, ageing patriarch Al-Sayyid Ahmad pursues...
    By Naguib Mahfouz
    Paperback
    $3299
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Sugar Street
    The final volume in the celebrated Cairo Trilogy. The acclaimed international bestseller by the Nobel Prize winning author. 'A masterpiece' - The Times'The Arab Tolstoy' - Simon Sebag Montefiore Sugar Street, the climactic final book in the classic Cairo Trilogy, is the captivating story of a family struggling to change with the rise of modern Egypt. As Cairo shrugs off...
    By Naguib Mahfouz
    Paperback
    $3299
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Palace Of Desire by Naguib Mahfouz is widely regarded as a masterpiece, often compared to works by Tolstoy, and praised for its captivating storytelling. Reviewers highlight its entertainment value and literary prowess, with some considering Mahfouz a masterful writer on par with European greats. The book is described as an engaging and unmissable saga.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780552995818

Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 August 1994

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Black Swan

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 26.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 295g

Pages: 432

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Naguib Mahfouz Penguin Books Series: Cairo Trilogy

About the Author

"Naguib Mahfouz was most prominent literary figure in the Arab world of the Twentieth Century, best known for his Cairo Trilogy (Palace Walk, Palace of Desire and Sugar Walk), which became an international bestseller. He was born in Cairo in 1911 and lived in the suburb of Agouza with his wife and two daughters for the rest of his life. He published more than thirty novels as well as many collections of short stories, plays and screenplays. In 1988, Mr Mahfouz was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, the first Arab writer to win it. In 1994, after the publication of a novel that led him into trouble with Egypt's religious authorities, an attempt was made on his life, but he died peacefully in 2006, aged 94."

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  • Children of the Alley
    Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Naguib Mahfouz offers this epic story of a single alley in Cairo and the generations that passed through it. A tumultuous neighbourhood known as 'the alley' has seen successive heroes rise and fall as they struggle to defend the rights left to them by their great ancestor, Gebelawi. From the supreme feudal lord...
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  • The Quarter
    Meet the people of Cairo's Gamaliya quarter. There is Nabqa, son of Adam the waterseller who can only speak truths; the beautiful and talented Tawhida who does not age with time; Ali Zaidan, the gambler, late to love; and Boss Saqr who stashes his money above the bath. A neighbourhood of demons, dancing and sweet halva, the quarter keeps quiet...
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  • Palace Walk
    Palace Walk is the first volume in the celebrated Cairo Trilogy. This sweeping and evocative portrait captures both a family and a country struggling to move toward independence in a society that has resisted change for centuries. Set against the backdrop of Britain's occupation of Egypt immediately after World War I, Palace Walk introduces us to the Al Jawad family....
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    $3000
    Elsewhere:
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    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Sugar Street
    The final volume in the celebrated Cairo Trilogy. The acclaimed international bestseller by the Nobel Prize winning author. 'A masterpiece' - The Times'The Arab Tolstoy' - Simon Sebag Montefiore Sugar Street, the climactic final book in the classic Cairo Trilogy, is the captivating story of a family struggling to change with the rise of modern Egypt. As Cairo shrugs off...
    By Naguib Mahfouz
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    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • I Found Myself...The Last Dreams
    A surreal record of Naguib Mahfouz's dreams in the great writer's final years. After an assassination attempt and in waning health, Naguib Mahfouz became more cautious in his twilight years. At the same time, in nightly dreams, his imagination began to roam his beloved city, Cairo, with a rare freedom. In this collection of vivid vignettes linked together by the...
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