Read Five Innovative Egyptian Short Stories

Five Innovative Egyptian Short Stories

Saad Elkhadem

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Description:Five Innovative Egyptian Short Stories is a 1994 release of previously published works by Saad Elkhadem—all original, delightful, and masterly crafted. Short, compact, and sometimes technically demanding, the works—plausible, fascinating, and entertaining anecdotes of Egyptian life in mid-century—evoke in the reader who has had some contact with Egyptian life what the Irish critic and short-story writer Sean O'Faolain once called the "recognition of the familiar," a basic requirement for pleasure in the short story. The reader is also jolted and challenged by the seemingly innocuous anecdotes and recognizes the disturbingly social and moral implications behind these apparently innocent and coherent "slices" of life. "Pigs," originally published in Arabic in 1967 and in translation in 1977, is the story of a sexually starved clubfooted intellectual. Though "cultured and educated," the young man has a feeling of inferiority because women shun him. His dedication to "principles and values" is finally confronted by the demands of the flesh, and in this conflict the male "macho" manifests itself in an apparent contempt for women. The story is narrated from the point of view of the protagonist, in the form of an indirect interior monologue, à la Virginia Woolf, except for the fully punctuated conversation, in ellipsis, which intrigues the reader. Book Reviews "The Torpedo," an earlier version of which appeared in Arabic in 1967, was also published in translation in 1977. In this story, the attention of the reader is at first divided between the reminiscences of the persona of the writer as he revises the old manuscript of the story of Ahmad Effendi for publication. Ahmad Effendi's story, given in parentheses, gradually takes over center stage, but not before some insight is given the reader into the writer's penchant for selfcriticism, especially his awareness that the manuscript in parentheses may have the elements of "tension and suspense," but little or no "deep significance." "Nobody Complained," first published in 1989, takes the reader into what has become Elkhadem's stomping grounds: the experience of an Egyptian immigrant abroad (see, e.g., From Travels of the Egyptian Odysseus [1979]; The Ulysses Trilogy [1988]; Trilogy of the Flying Egyptian [1990, 1991, 1992]). In this short story, Elkhadem probes—with great insight and not without sympathy— the consciousness of Ibrahim Khalil, who has recently arrived in Canada, as he hunts for a job. The repressed anger, frustration, and exasperation of the unemployed Ibrahim Khalil are underlined. An earlier version of "The Reader and the Glass of Milk" appeared in Arabic as early as 1966. The narrator is waiting for the arrival of a train, and, as he browses through a "childish" magazine, is at once drawn and repelled by Samirah's "old story." It is the story of a wife who does not love her husband and tries to get rid of him, abetted in her endeavor to poison him by her lover. As interest in the outcome of the anecdote grows, Elkhadem carefully underlines the criticism of the narrator for the "naive trick" at the end, à la O' Henry! "Men," the last piece in the anthology, was first published in Arabic in 1967 but makes its first appearance in the anthology in English in Elkhadem's own translation. This is a dramatic narrative, a one-act play with several scenes, complete with stage direction (in italics) and dialogue. The dialogue carries the action and the narration. The fate of the pregnant Husniyyah is determined with remarkable sangfroid; the male culprit escapes punishment, but the woman pays. The Midddle Eastern concern—or is it obsession?—with female chastity seems to know no boundaries. Elkhadem's sure knowledge of the psychology of country people, their superstitions and mores, is quite evident. The use of the mask in conversation is of special interest and significance; it is, in a way, in the words of J.A. Prufrock, an attempt "to prepare a face to meet the faces" that one meets. When the Hajj and his wife, or Mansûr and Urfân, speak, they put on the mask; when it is off, what they say is more of a dramatic monologue revealing their true selves. One wonders, however, why Saad Elkhadem decided to include this piece under the rubric of "short story." Five Innovative Egyptian short Stories is a delightful anthology and a veritable study in pleasure well worth its price. The bilingual edition gives the reader who can read Arabic an opportunity to assess the closeness of the translations (three pieces have been translated by Professor S. El-Gabalawy, and two by the author), and how they managed to retain the flavor and nuances of meaning in the original.”We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with Five Innovative Egyptian Short Stories. To get started finding Five Innovative Egyptian Short Stories, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

Pages: 24

Format: PDF, EPUB & Kindle Edition

Publisher: —

Release: —

ISBN: 0919966918

Description: Five Innovative Egyptian Short Stories is a 1994 release of previously published works by Saad Elkhadem—all original, delightful, and masterly crafted. Short, compact, and sometimes technically demanding, the works—plausible, fascinating, and entertaining anecdotes of Egyptian life in mid-century—evoke in the reader who has had some contact with Egyptian life what the Irish critic and short-story writer Sean O'Faolain once called the "recognition of the familiar," a basic requirement for pleasure in the short story. The reader is also jolted and challenged by the seemingly innocuous anecdotes and recognizes the disturbingly social and moral implications behind these apparently innocent and coherent "slices" of life. "Pigs," originally published in Arabic in 1967 and in translation in 1977, is the story of a sexually starved clubfooted intellectual. Though "cultured and educated," the young man has a feeling of inferiority because women shun him. His dedication to "principles and values" is finally confronted by the demands of the flesh, and in this conflict the male "macho" manifests itself in an apparent contempt for women. The story is narrated from the point of view of the protagonist, in the form of an indirect interior monologue, à la Virginia Woolf, except for the fully punctuated conversation, in ellipsis, which intrigues the reader. Book Reviews "The Torpedo," an earlier version of which appeared in Arabic in 1967, was also published in translation in 1977. In this story, the attention of the reader is at first divided between the reminiscences of the persona of the writer as he revises the old manuscript of the story of Ahmad Effendi for publication. Ahmad Effendi's story, given in parentheses, gradually takes over center stage, but not before some insight is given the reader into the writer's penchant for selfcriticism, especially his awareness that the manuscript in parentheses may have the elements of "tension and suspense," but little or no "deep significance." "Nobody Complained," first published in 1989, takes the reader into what has become Elkhadem's stomping grounds: the experience of an Egyptian immigrant abroad (see, e.g., From Travels of the Egyptian Odysseus [1979]; The Ulysses Trilogy [1988]; Trilogy of the Flying Egyptian [1990, 1991, 1992]). In this short story, Elkhadem probes—with great insight and not without sympathy— the consciousness of Ibrahim Khalil, who has recently arrived in Canada, as he hunts for a job. The repressed anger, frustration, and exasperation of the unemployed Ibrahim Khalil are underlined. An earlier version of "The Reader and the Glass of Milk" appeared in Arabic as early as 1966. The narrator is waiting for the arrival of a train, and, as he browses through a "childish" magazine, is at once drawn and repelled by Samirah's "old story." It is the story of a wife who does not love her husband and tries to get rid of him, abetted in her endeavor to poison him by her lover. As interest in the outcome of the anecdote grows, Elkhadem carefully underlines the criticism of the narrator for the "naive trick" at the end, à la O' Henry! "Men," the last piece in the anthology, was first published in Arabic in 1967 but makes its first appearance in the anthology in English in Elkhadem's own translation. This is a dramatic narrative, a one-act play with several scenes, complete with stage direction (in italics) and dialogue. The dialogue carries the action and the narration. The fate of the pregnant Husniyyah is determined with remarkable sangfroid; the male culprit escapes punishment, but the woman pays. The Midddle Eastern concern—or is it obsession?—with female chastity seems to know no boundaries. Elkhadem's sure knowledge of the psychology of country people, their superstitions and mores, is quite evident. The use of the mask in conversation is of special interest and significance; it is, in a way, in the words of J.A. Prufrock, an attempt "to prepare a face to meet the faces" that one meets. When the Hajj and his wife, or Mansûr and Urfân, speak, they put on the mask; when it is off, what they say is more of a dramatic monologue revealing their true selves. One wonders, however, why Saad Elkhadem decided to include this piece under the rubric of "short story." Five Innovative Egyptian short Stories is a delightful anthology and a veritable study in pleasure well worth its price. The bilingual edition gives the reader who can read Arabic an opportunity to assess the closeness of the translations (three pieces have been translated by Professor S. El-Gabalawy, and two by the author), and how they managed to retain the flavor and nuances of meaning in the original.”We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with Five Innovative Egyptian Short Stories. To get started finding Five Innovative Egyptian Short Stories, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

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Five Innovative Egyptian Short Stories

Five Innovative Egyptian Short Stories

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