"An invaluable contribution to our understanding of Mahfouz and a full, descriptive survey of novels by the Egyptian Nobel Prize-winning writer. It bridges the gap for non-Arabists, and in detail gives a vivid portrait of each novel, its subject matter, and the historical period in which it was written."--Omar Pound, Princeton University

Until he won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1988, little was known in the West about the life and literary accomplishments of Naguib Mahfouz, an Egyptian and the first Arab to receive the award. His writing, examined by Matti Moosa in its original...