Aunt Safiyya and the Monastery - A Novel (Paperback)

The first English translation of a fine Egyptian novel, originally published in 1991, set during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and concerned with the fate of a young Muslim caught up in a blood feud and seeking sanctuary in a Coptic monastery. The rival cultures that he and his patient hosts embody are lucidly presented through a virtuosic weaving of information and drama whose characters - most notably the fugitive's painstakingly decent father and vengeful Aunt Safiyya - are both representative figures and vibrant flesh-and-blood human beings. (Kirkus Reviews)

This brief, beautifically crafted novel introduces one of the finest contemporary Arab novelists to English-speaking audiences. In it, Bahaa' Taher, one of a group of Egyptian writers - including the Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz - noted for their revealing portraits of Egyptian life and society, tells the dramatic story of a young Muslim who, when his life is threatened, finds sanctuary in a community of Coptic monks. It is a tale of honor and of the terrible demands of blood vengeance; it probes the question of how a people or nation can become divided against itself. Taher has a magical gift for evoking the village life of Upper Egypt - a vastly different setting than urban Cairo and a landscape that tourists usually glimpse only from the windows of trains and buses taking them to the Pharaonic sites. Here, where Christians and Muslims have coexisted peacefully for centuries, where the traditions of the Coptic Church are as powerful as those of the Muslims, Taher crafts an intricate and compelling tale of far-reaching implications. With a powerful narrative voice and a genius for capturing the complex nuances of human interaction, Taher brilliantly depicts the poignant drama of a traditional society caught up in the process of change.

General

Imprint:	University of California Press
Country of origin:	United States
Series:	Literature of the Middle East
Release date:	June 1996
First published:	June 1996
Authors:	Bahaa' Taher
Translators:	Barbara Romaine
Dimensions:	210 x 140 x 10mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - Trade
Pages:	116
ISBN-13:	978-0-520-20075-3
Categories:	Books > Fiction > General & literary fiction > Modern fiction
LSN:	0-520-20075-6
Barcode:	9780520200753

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