The Book Discussion Group meets on the 4th Thursday of
alternate months at 8:00 PM at the home of a member.
Call Carol Auer for location: 732-671-8327
On Thursday, August 28, 2008
we will discuss:
The first book of the classic Cairo Trilogy
“Palace Walk”
by Naguib Mahfouz
June 26
Hi All,
We meet on the 4th Thursday of every other month at a member's house,
alternating between fiction and non-fiction. All members are welcome.
For our June meeting we discussed Ayaan Hirsi Ali's book “Infidel." As many people saw the flier on the book at the last forum, I won't add more than that we all found her story impressive and that it left us wanting to know more about various aspects of Islam and also very interested in exploring the many issues associated with immigration.
Our next book is the first book of the classic Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz, "Palace Walk." The meeting will be on August 28 at 8:00 pm.
From Library Journal
This extraordinary novel provides a close look into Cairo society at the end of World War I. Mahfouz's vehicle for this examination is the family of al-Sayyid Ahmad, a middle-class merchant who runs his family strictly according to the Qur'an and directs his own behavior according to his desires. Consequently, while his wife and two daughters remain cloistered at home, and his three sons live in fear of his harsh will, al-Sayyid Ahmad nightly explores the pleasures of Cairo. Written by the first Arabic writer to win the Nobel Prize, Palace Walk begins Mahfouz's highly acclaimed "Cairo Trilogy," which follows Egypt's development from 1917 to nationalism and Nasser in the 1950s. This novel's enchanting style and sweeping social tapestry ensure a large audience.
From the Guardian:
The three volumes describe in minute detail the daily events in a middle-class Egyptian family, recording for history as no other book does a way of life that has disappeared under the impact of western influence and the pressures of modern life. The political happenings of the times are interwoven into the lives of the many characters. Members of the protagonist family represent the main trends in the political life of the country: the Wafd party (the party with which Mahfouz associated himself), the burgeoning socialist movement, and the beginnings of a fundamentalist Islamic movement.
Books we have read in the past:
2008:
“Infidel” by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
“Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri
"Incompleteness" by Rebecca Goldstein.
2007:
"The Exception" by Christian Jungersen.
"Flow" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini.
"Crimes Against Logic" by Jamie Whyte.
"Letter to a Christian Nation" by Sam Harris. |
