Plot Summary

Arabian Nights and Days

Naguib Mahfouz
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Arabian Nights and Days

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1979

Book Brief

Naguib Mahfouz

Arabian Nights and Days

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1979
Book Details
Pages

240

Format

Novel • Fiction

Setting

Fictional Middle Eastern City • Medieval

Publication Year

1979

Audience

Adult

Recommended Reading Age

18+ years

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Super Short Summary

Arabian Nights and Days by Naguib Mahfouz reimagines classic tales from A Thousand and One Nights, featuring characters like Aladdin and Sinbad, to explore themes of absolute power, greed, corruption, love, and political revolution. Each fable, while unique, interlinks to depict social and political turmoil, transformation, and the corrupting force of power. Inclusion of topics such as pregnancy and moral dilemmas is essential for context.

Mysterious

Fantastical

Dark

Contemplative

Bittersweet

Reviews & Readership

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Review Roundup

Arabian Nights and Days by Naguib Mahfouz masterfully intertwines the magical with the mundane, reflecting on power, morality, and human nature. Critics praise its imaginative narrative and rich cultural texture. Some find the allegorical style complex and the pacing uneven. Overall, it is lauded for its depth and evocative storytelling.

Who should read this

Who Should Read Arabian Nights and Days?

A reader fascinated by magical realism and Middle Eastern folklore would relish Arabian Nights and Days by Naguib Mahfouz. Fans of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude or Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children will appreciate the intertwining of myth and reality in Mahfouz's narrative.

Book Details
Pages

240

Format

Novel • Fiction

Setting

Fictional Middle Eastern City • Medieval

Publication Year

1979

Audience

Adult

Recommended Reading Age

18+ years

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