Miramar (novel)

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Miramar
Author Naguib Mahfouz
Original title Miramar
Translator Fatma Moussa Mahmoud 1978
Country Egypt
Language Arabic
Genre(s) Novel
Publisher Doubleday
Publication date 1967 in Arabic (English translation 1978)
Media type Print (Paperback)
Pages 181
ISBN 0-385-26478-X

Miramar is a novel authored by Naguib Mahfouz, an Egyptian Nobel Prize-winning author. It was written in 1967 and translated into English in 1978.


[edit] Plot summary

The novel is set in 1960s Alexandria at the pension Miramar. The novel follows the interactions of the residents of the pension, its mistress, and her servant. The interactions of all the residents is based around the servant girl Zohra, a beautiful peasant girl who has abandoned her village life. As each character in turn fights for Zohras affections or allegiance tensions and jealousies rise. The story is retold four times from the perspective of a different resident each time, allowing the reader to understand the intricacies of post-revolutionary Egyptian life.

[edit] Symbolism

As with many Naguib Mahfouz novels Miramar is rife with symbolism. The character Zohra has been proposed to symbolize the ideal modern Eqyptian/Egypt. She is hard working and honest but uneducated, and constantly being pulled by different forces. Among those pulling her and Egypt are Europeans, Egyptian nationalists (Wafd party), the wealthy upper-class, and the Muslim Brotherhood.

[edit] External links

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Works of Naguib Mahfouz

Old Egypt • Whisper of Madness • Mockery of the Fates • Rhadopis of Nubia • The Struggle of Tyba • Modern Cairo • Khan al-Khalili • Midaq Alley • The Mirage • The Beginning and The End • Cairo Trilogy • Palace Walk • Palace of Desire • Sugar Street • Children of Gebelawi • The Thief and the Dogs • Quail and Autumn • God's World • Zaabalawi • The Search • The Beggar • Adrift on the Nile • Miramar • The Pub of the Black Cat • Chitchat on the nile • A story without a beginning or an ending • The Honeymoon • Mirrors • Love under the rain • The Crime • al-Karnak • Respected Sir • The Harafish • Love above the Pyramid Plateau • The Devil Preaches • Love and the Veil • Arabian Nights and Days • Wedding Song • One hour remains • The Journey of Ibn Fattouma • Akhenaten, Dweller in Truth • The Day the Leader was Killed • Fountain and Tomb • Dreams of the Rehabilitation Period • The Seventh Heaven