Back-cover text:
Everyone seeks shelter in the shade of a leafy tree, yet when winter comes and drought and cold strip it bare, those same people abandon it without a second thought. A mummy, disturbed in its tomb, awakens in fury to the twentieth century; a pharaoh is betrayed by his son and those closest to him; virtues are banished, greed and ambition prevail…
Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz, one of Arabic literature’s most distinguished novelists, reaches into his country’s magnificent past in these captivating early stories. Drawing on historical figures, ancient texts, and poetry, he brings the world of ancient Egypt into dialogue with the present. This collection comprises five stories—"Evil Adored," "The Forgiveness of Pharaoh Userkaf," "The Mummy’s Awakening," "The Return of Sinuhe," and "A Voice from the Other World"—presented in Mehmet Hakkı Suçin’s finely crafted Turkish translation.
"The extraordinary diversity of Mahfouz’s writing continues to dazzle us."
—The Washington Post
"Mahfouz is the most important writer in modern Arabic literature."
—Newsday