The Quarter

Newly discovered collection of unpublished stories by key figure and Nobel Prize winner in literature, these fable-like stories carry Mahfouz's signature observations of the human character, taking the reader deep into the beating heart of Cairo

`A master of both detailed realism and fabulous storytelling'

`A towering literary figure, and the joyous chronicler of a turbulent Egyptian century'

`Egypt's greatest living writer ... one of the world's most humane literary figures'

`The Arab Tolstoy'

`Adds yet another essential chapter to the oeuvre of a literary figure of greatness'

`Smooth reading ... a compelling experiment in sound and echo'

'This new folio of interconnected stories is very much part of Mahfouz's late experiments'

`A glimpse into a world that seems both ancient and distant ... [Mahfouz's] "simple" characters reveal to the reader not just the brutality of everyday life but also its distorted beauty. They show the complexities and uniqueness of their world and in doing so offer lessons for all of humanity to draw on ... a teasing glimpse of Mahfouz's work ... seek it out'

`Masterly ... Unmistakably Cairene ... translated with practised clarity by Roger Allen'

`Naguib Mahfouz's legacy as Egypt's greatest novelist is sustained with these engaging short stories ... their themes are timeless'

‘Exceptional … a charming book … Mahfouz plunges his readers into a world gleaming with folktales, moral allegories, and strange, otherworldly occurrences … The Quarter is a recommended read for those who want to understand how the Arab world’s most celebrated novelist earned the title “The Master.”’

Naguib Mahfouz was born in Cairo in 1911 and began writing when he was seventeen. A student of philosophy and an avid reader, his works range from reimaginings of ancient myths to subtle commentaries on contemporary Egyptian politics and culture. Over a career that lasted more than five decades, he wrote 34 novels, 13 short story anthologies, numerous plays and 30 screenplays. Of his many works, most famous is The Cairo Trilogy, consisting of Palace Walk (1956), Palace of Desire (1957), and Sugar Street (1957). Other notable works include The Children of Gebelawi, The Thief and the Dogs, Autumn Quail, Small Talk on the Nile and Miramar. Half of his novels have also been made into films. Mahfouz was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988, the first writer in Arabic to do so. He died in August 2006.