PALACE WALK PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Naguib Mahfouz | 533 pages | 29 Nov 2011 | Anchor Books | 9780307947109 | English | United States Palace Walk - Naguib Mahfouz She even profoundly loved this hour of waiting up, though it interrupted a pleasant sleep and forced her to do chores that should have ceased with the end of the day. Not only had it become an integral part of her life, tied to many of her memories, but it continued to be the living symbol of her affection for her spouse, of her wholehearted dedication to making him happy, which she revealed to him night after night. For this reason, she was filled with contentment as she stood in the balcony peering through the openings toward Palace Walk and al-Khurunfush streets and then towards Hammam al Sultan or the various minarets. She let her eyes wander over the houses bunched together untidily on both sides of the road like a row of soldiers standing at ease, relaxing from harsh discipline. She smiled at the beloved view of this road, which stayed awake until the break of dawn, while the other streets, lanes, and alleys slept. It distracted her from her sleeplessness and kept her company when she was lonely, dispelling her fears. Night changed nothing save to envelop the surrounding areas with a profound silence that provided a setting in which the street's sounds could ring out clearly, like the shadows at the edges of a painting that give the work depth and clarity. A laugh would resound as though bursting out in her room, and a remark made in a normal tone of voice could be heard distinctly. She could listen to a cough rattle on until it ended in a kind of moan. A waiter's voice would ring out like the call of a muezzin: "Another ball of tobacco for the pipe," and she would merrily ask herself, "By God, are these people ordering a refill at this hour? She would wonder, "Where do you suppose he is now? What is he doing? May he be safe and sound whatever he does. Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, so wealthy, strong, and handsome, who stayed out night after night,must have other women in his life. At that time, her life was poisoned by jealousy, and intense sorrow overcame her. Her courage was not up to speaking to him about it, but she confided her grief to her mother, who sought as best she could to soother her mind with fine words, telling her, "He married you after divorcing his first wife. He could have kept her too, if he'd wanted, or taken second, third, and fourth wives. His father had many wives. Thank our Lord that you remain his only wife. Even if the rumor was accurate, perhaps that was another characteristic of manliness, like late nights and tyranny. At any rate, a single evil was better than many. It would be a mistake to allow suspicion to wreck her good life filled with happiness and comfort. Moreover, in spite of everything, perhaps the rumor was idle speculation or a lie. She discovered that jealousy was no different from the other difficulties troubling her life. To accept them was an inevitable and binding decree. Her only means of combating them was, she found, to call on patience and rely on her inner strength, the one resource in the struggle against disagreeable things. Jealousy and its motivation became something she put up with like her husband's other troubling characteristics or living with the jinn. A majestic and capacious accomplishment. The general questions that follow provide topics for further discussion of the trilogy as a whole. What concrete details of daily life does Mahfouz describe in introducing the family? What daily rituals are described? What is the effect of this intimate, material presentation? Do they feel imprisoned or envious of the men in the family? How do the women react to, and deal with, their highly traditional sexual and domestic roles? How many important roles does Amina play in this family? What is her strategy in dealing with her husband? Is it difficult to identify with her? Why or why not? What is different or surprising about the rhythm of life for the al-Jawad family? When are the men separated from the women, and when do they come together? What are the important social moments of the day for the family? Why is Kamal so sad when his two sisters leave the family home? 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? Considering that the spiritual ecstasy that Amina experiences at the mosque is a high point in her life, and that her injury causes her both physical pain and shame as the consequence of her disobedience, what do you think of the way her husband punishes her? How does this episode deepen our sympathies with Amina and her children? In what ways does Mahfouz emphasize the role of prayer and belief in the life of the family? How do the sons compare with the daughters in terms of character? Which members of the family are most likeable? Aisha would have been happy to marry the police officer she had been watching each morning, but when Khalil Shawkat makes an offer, she readily agrees to marry him. How much choice does she have in this matter? What social function do wedding celebrations seem to perform? How are father and son alike? What lessons about the power relations in marriage does Ahmad hope his sons will learn from his example? What is the experience of being engaged in the story of a family whose lives are bound by a set of conventions and expectations very different from our own? What does this exchange underscore about the values held by Fahmy, and those held by his mother? Given that Fahmy will be killed later on this very day, discuss the emotional conflict in both father and son between safety and patriotic action. With the death of Fahmy, the political life of the nation has burst into the private home on Palace Walk. What larger point is Mahfouz making about the intersection of history and the family? Kamal is in search of his own truth, and he struggles to break from the religious orthodoxy of his upbringing and to attain a more modern and Western intellectual life. Are any belief systems found to be sustaining for the characters in the trilogy? Does Kamal eventually arrive at a satisfying intellectual, spiritual, or political position? In a moment of illumination, he realizes that his father has created the model for his own masochism in love. He speaks in his mind to his father: "Do you know what other consequences there were to loving you despite your tyranny? I loved another tyrant who was unfair to me for a long time, both to my face and behind my back. She oppressed me without ever loving me. In spite of all that, I worshipped her from the depths of my heart and still do. In any case, Father, you're the one who made it easy for me to accept oppression through your continual tyranny. What is Mahfouz expressing, in the trilogy, about his understanding of time, change and heredity? 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? Mahfouz was aligned with the first wave of support for the Wafd party, represented by Fahmy in Palace Walk. I was proud of our revolution and proud to be a Wafdist. But the top priority of the revolution was not democracy; it was to get rid of foreign rule. Egypt was the first country in our century to rise up against European occupation. The people, led by the Wafd, ended the protectorate but failed to gain real independence, and, in any case, the Wafd did not know how to govern in a democracy. Democracy is not deeply rooted in our culture. Egyptians would make sacrifices for independence, but they did not value democracy, and so, step by step, our system fell apart. But, whoever was responsible, most Egyptians had concluded by the start of World War II that democracy offered nothing—not social justice, not freedom, not even full independence. How might Mahfouz have felt had he lived to see the wave of protests that took place in , as well as the trial of Hosni Mubarak? For a complete list of available reading group guides, and to sign up for the Reading Group Center enewsletter, visit www. Home 1 Books 2. Read an excerpt of this book! Add to Wishlist. Sign in to Purchase Instantly. Members save with free shipping everyday! See details. The novels of the Cairo Trilogy trace three generations of the family of tyrannical patriarch al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, who rules his household with a strict hand while living a secret life of self-indulgence. Palace Walk introduces us to his gentle, oppressed wife, Amina, his cloistered daughters, Aisha and Khadija, and his three sons—the tragic and idealistic Fahmy, the dissolute hedonist Yasin, and the soul-searching intellectual Kamal.