Palace of Desire is the second novel in Nobel Prize-winner Naguib Mahfouz’s magnificent Cairo Trilogy, an epic family saga of colonial Egypt that is considered his masterwork.
The novels of the Cairo Trilogy trace three generations of the family of tyrannical patriarch al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, who rules his household with a strict hand while living a secret life of self-indulgence. In Palace of Desire, his rebellious children struggle to move beyond his domination, as the world around them opens to the currents of modernity and political and domestic turmoil brought by the 1920s.
Translated by William Maynard Hutchins, Lorne M. Kenny, and Olive E. Kenny.
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From Publishers Weekly
In this second volume of Nobel laureate Mahfouz's Cairo trilogy, a tyrannical father discovers that his mistress has secretly married his just-divorced son. "A masterpiece, albeit a wordy, very leisurely one, this family saga is well served by a scintillating translation that exposes English-language readers to an Egyptian Balzac," said PW.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
From Library Journal
Al-Sayyid Ahmad is mellowing as he leaves middle age. As this second novel of "The Cairo Trilogy" opens, he is ending his self-imposed abstention from liquor and women, begun five years earlier upon the death of his son, Fahmy. With shouts of joy, his friends welcome him back to their nightly revels, and al-Sayyid Ahmad promtly begins a new love affair. Meanwhile, his children are struggling with life beyond their father's domination. Yasin is twice divorced and incapable of resisting any woman. The two married daughters are split by an open feud. And Kamal, the intellectual center of this novel, enters college, where he suffers the three furies of religion, science, and romance. Through all these avenues, Mahfouz pursues his fascinating examination of Cairo's Islamic culture as it opens to modern influences. This novel continues the outstanding quality of this trilogy, leaving readers anxious for the final volume.
-Paul E. Hutchison, Pequea, Pa.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
-Paul E. Hutchison, Pequea, Pa.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By J. Jacobs
Format:Paperback
A continuation of Palace Walk, the story seemed to drag on. I found Kamal's intellectual transformations interesting, but quickly tired of Yasin's escapades and the focus on men and their indiscretions with women. Mahfouz also used analogies sometimes to excess.
Format:Paperback
While this book could be read on it's own, I highly suggest reading Palace Walk first, as it is a sequel. The reader really needs the background from the first book to fully appreciate this one.
This book opens with the father, Al Sayyid Ahmad Abd al Jawad, in middle age. He,and his oldest son, Yasin continue their romantic escapades. Kamal is hurt terribly in love. This book absolutely deverves the Nobel Prize for Literature that it won, as you really feel with all of the characters. Naguib Mahfouz is a master of characterization, and of many different types of characters.
If you have read and enjoyed Palace Walk, by all means, continue with Palace of Desire, and Sugar Street (third and last of the series of three). You will NOT be disappointed.
By debra crosby
Format:Paperback
In this, the second novel of the Cairo Trilogy (although I hesitate to call it that, since I now see the "trilogy" more as a novel in its entirety, which is what Mahfouz apparently preferred it to be), the movement of the narrative is more toward introspection, as we enter the mind of the youngest member of the family, Kamal. Kamal is a philosophically and romantically minded young man, an idealist who wants to be a teacher in spite of his father's strong opposition and the fact that the profession he seeks to enter gets little respect from his friends and the society in which he lives. His openness to the new ideas (such as evolution) stands in direct opposition to his father's staunch defense of the old ways and the old religious beliefs.
While sometimes I found the narrative a bit slow (too much of Kamal's ruminations on the nature of love, for example), I still enjoyed this section of the saga. I got a feel for Mahfouz' world view and a further education on the Middle Eastern mind. Egypt continues in a turmoil which parallels that of the young Kamal. Europe beckons, taking his best friend from him. The Western Influence is a source of pain and curiosity at the same time. More and more the reader comes to see why the Middle East views the West with scepticism and scorn.
Kamal's father begins to slide into infirmity, losing physical strength but not inner passion, and the family will soon no doubt have to deal with the problems related to the possible loss of its patriarch.
As always, well written, compelling narrative, for the most part. I will continue to complete the trilogy by reading "Sugar Street." This family saga is one I want to complete.
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4.3 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Egyptian Family, the story continues
The family saga continues in book 2 of the Cairo trilogy, this time with Kamal as a main focus, his earlier childhood devotion to religion has been rejected and he has become a... Read more
Published on Nov 19 2002 by Gail Moore
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enter through the imagination
As a college teacher trying to help American students to understand why we are not universally popular in the Middle East, I have found that fiction works better than any number of... Read more
Published on May 9 2002 by sally a mcnall
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unique window into Arabic culture and Arabic weltanschauung.
I do consulting in the refining and petrochemical industries and have, as a result, struck up several friendships with Arabs and Arab-Americans working in those facilities. Read more
Published on Mar 18 2002 by David J. Gannon
3.0 out of 5 stars
pretty lackluster read
Palace of Desire continues the Cairo Trilogy of Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz. Like it's excellent predecessor, Palace Walk, it follows the family saga of the patriarchal... Read more
Published on Nov 18 2000 by Orrin C. Judd
2.0 out of 5 stars
tedious
I absolutely LOVED Palace Walk, and couldn't wait to read the second book of the trilogy. But unlike the first, I found myself reading the same page over and over again until I... Read more
Published on Aug 11 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
A real treat
Mafouz has won the nobel prize for literature so I'm surprised I'm the first one here. This family is engaging and the way of life in Cairo almost palpable in this trilogy. Read more
Published on July 9 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best of three and all
A marvellous sequel to "Palace Walk". It's a book about love, religion, despair, love, life and love once more. Read more
Published on Jun 11 1999 by Ahmet E. Gumrukcuoglu
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing!!
All three books of the trilogy are written in an exceptional way, once you start reading them you can't stop!
Published on Feb 24 1999
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