Palace Walk: Cairo Trilogy 1 (The Cairo Trilogy, Vol. 1)

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As for the children, I really loved the eldest daughter Khadija and the youngest Kamal. Khadija is definitely relatable because she is opinionated and shows a lot of intelligence which sadly only gets to shine through her deflective use of sarcasm to cover up her insecurities. Much of her conflict revolves around being unmarried at twenty and the preference of suitors and potentials husbands to her younger sister Aisha whom I find only remarkable in beauty and not in personality. Kamal, on the other hand, is inquisitive and playful, always living in his imagination and daydreams which makes him often a problem for his family. I love him very much though because of his inclination to learn and his outward sunny disposition even if his father disapproves of him, as well as his affectionate relationships with his mother and sisters which I hope will stay the same even when he grows older. About thirty years ago, I worked in the Production department of Delacorte Books for Young Readers. One of the many lovely side benefits of the job was the endless supply of books that floated around the place. I vacuumed the Cairo Trilogy up as it appeared in the halls, outside the doors of the various production managers. Al-Sayyid Ahmad is “a man known to his family for his ferocity and anger” (220); his character is double-sided (240). How does he justify to himself the forbidding demeanor he puts on with his family, while going out nightly to enjoy music, laughter and erotic entertainment with his close friends? Is he a hypocrite? Does his relationship with his family make him difficult for a reader to like?

The outside world is held at bay here -- more, and then less effectively -- and one of the major themes of the novel is the constant (and ultimately futile) struggle to have time stand still. His children were meant to be a breed apart, outside the framework of history. He alone would set their course for them, not the revolution, the times, or the rest of humanity.”

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This cleverly-written novel is about the structure of the family unit, the role of the patriarch and matriarch, and the political repercussions that ensue as barriers are broken and roles become reversed over time. This is a political allegory, adopting the Jawad family structure to mirror the political ramifications and urban culture of a life in twentieth century Egypt. Ahmad Abd al-Jawad is the epitome of the Egyptian patriarch, a nostalgic and somewhat inspirational character, allegedly based on Mahfouz’s own father figure. He wants to be in complete control, and in his house he is assured of that, as everyone does exactly as he demands (and lives in great fear of him, while also loving and respecting him).

For me to futher illustrate this gender dichotomy for this review, let's take the mother Amina as an example. She is one of my top favorites and I find her to be impressive in spirit and character. She is virtuous and steadfast in her devotion to her philandering husband, and possesses a naturally curious mind that never truly realizes its potentials only because of the limitations that precede her gender. Her only means to learn about new information is through her sons who adore her enough to include her in their intellectual debates and discussions some of the time. Yasin, who is already working, takes after his father in his desire for personal gratification: drink and especially sex tempt him greatly. But when his perspective comes there's more to him than first appears. He is a multifaceted-- ofttimes sensitive --man who struggles to find the right balance in his role as husband, father, friend, Egyptian and Muslim. Al-Sayyid Ahmad has great difficulty in dealing with the world at large, especially with regards to his family.

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And indeed it does not. Each of the couple's five children challenges some aspect, large or small, of the parents' lives. The two most important points of friction concern family relations and sexual attitudes.

His three sons, including one who is now considered a man by virtue of his age and employment, turn to weak-kneed jelly in the face of his disapproval and will literally kiss his hand to re-establish what they sadly perceive as paternal love. And as for his two daughters? Ahmad’s attitude says it all, Surrounded by her family -- two daughters, two sons, and a stepson -- she is content with her lot, despite the fact that her strict husband forbids her to go out alone, which means she spends almost her entire life entirely within the confines of the house. The family consists of the tyrannical father, a shopkeeper, and his subservient wife. He goes by the name of al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad. Her name is Amina. They have five children--Yasin (the eldest son of twenty one, born to the father’s earlier wife), Khadija (the sharp-tongued eldest daughter of twenty), Fahmy (a politically oriented student of law, eighteen years of age), Aisha (the pretty, blonde haired, blue eyed youngest daughter of sixteen) and Kamal (a rambunctious schoolboy of nine). Add to this a longtime-employed maid—Umm Hanafi. Four are of the marrying age—so of course we see if they marry, and if so whom. Mahfouz’s women are very strong, whereas the men tend to be childish, self-indulgent, and relatively weak. Compare the characters of Al-Sayyid Ahmad and his wife Amina, for example. What does this contrast suggest about the family structure Mahfouz portrays? How do cultural and familial assumptions about women and sexuality influence the romantic lives of Yasin and Jamal? How do they think about and express their desires, and what, if anything do they have in common with their father in this regard?

At least one reviewer has claimed about the submissiveness of Amina. But one must remember that she found no support - not in religion (she was deeply religious), not with her husband, not in the society (the fate of Ahmed's first wife shows what little chance women of liberal spirits had of approval), not even her mother who tells her to thank God that her husband is not taking another wife. Without a framework that would compel the reader through the novel, Palace Walk is more like a well written forced march than a pleasure trip. Mahfouz seems fascinated by the details of his characters' lives, at the expense of all else." - Jake Morrissey, National Review As a woman he is trying to seduce recognises: "On the outside you are dignified and pious, but inside you're licentious and debauched." Palace Walk is the greatest novel of Naguib Mahfouz, the Noble Prize winner for literature in 1988; and it and the two other parts that round out the Cairo Trilogy may well be the masterpiece of Arabic literature in the twentieth century.