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Nobel winning author, Naguib Mahfouz's late-translated novella, Heart of the Night is now available for the first time in paperback
Jaafar Ibrahim Sayyed al-Rawi is guided by his motto, “let life be filled with holy madness to the last breath.” He narrates his life story to a friend during one long night in a café in old Cairo. Through a series of bad decisions, he has lost everything: his family, his position in society, and his fortune. A man driven by his passions, he married a beautiful Bedouin nomad for love, and as a consequence pays a punishingly high price. From a life of comfort with a promising future guaranteed by his wealthy grandfather, he descended to the spartan life of a pauper, after being disinherited. Jaafar faces his tribulations with surprising stoicism and hope, sustained by his strong convictions, his spirituality, his sense of mission, and his deep desire to bring social justice to his people.
Heart of the Night is a classic Mahfouz gem exploring marriage across class lines, spirituality, and the harsh realities of a precarious, life written by one of Egypt's most celebrated literary masters.
“Heart of the Night is rich in thought and vision. . . . For anyone interested in Mahfouz’s work and views on philosophy and religion, the novel is well worth the read.”—Al-'Arabiyya
PRAISE FOR NAGUIB MAHFOUZ:
"The Arab world's foremost novelist"—The New York Times
"Mahfouz's work is freshly nuanced and hauntingly lyrical."—The Los Angeles Times
"A towering literary figure"—The Economist
"Egypt's greatest living writer and one of the world's most humane literary figures"—Laila Lalami, The Nation
"Timeless."—New Statesman
"A master of both detailed realism and fabulous storytelling"—The Guardian
"Mahfouz is a storyteller of the first order in any idiom." —Vanity Fair
"An elegant if perplexing tale by one of modern Arab literature's greatest voices."—Kirkus