Naguib Mahfouz

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Lore & Background

Mahfouz's *Midaq Alley* centers on a list of characters including Kirsha, a café owner who illegally sells and uses hashish and has a predilection for young boys; Mrs. Kirsha, infamous for her temper; Uncle Kamil, a good-hearted, bachelor sweets-seller, famously bloated and sleepy; Abbas, a young, kindly barber who joins the British army to make money to marry Hamida; Salim Alwan, the lustful, wealthy businessman who competes for Hamida but becomes embittered after a heart attack; Dr. Booshy, the self-proclaimed dentist who sells false teeth stolen off dead bodies; Sanker, the waiter at Kirsha's café; Sheikh Darwish, the old poet and former English teacher; Radwan Hussainy, a landlord who beats his wife and failed his al-Azhar exams yet is revered for his education and devotion; Hussain Kirsha, son of the café owner who works for the British and marries a woman of lower class; Saniya Afify, a widowed landlady who desires to remarry; Umm Hamida, the neighborhood matchmaker and bath attendant; Hamida, a beautiful young woman who dreams of a better life and is easily persuaded by wealth or power; Husniya, the bakeress who beats her husband with her slipper; Jaada, Husniya's husband; Zaita, the cripple maker who aids Dr. Booshy in theft of false teeth; Ibrahim Farhat, a politician; Ibrahim Faraj, a pimp who tries to seduce Hamida; and the Poet, who is replaced by a radio and barred by Kirsha.

Reader's Guide

Mahfouz's *Midaq Alley* is a 1947 novel that uses its Cairo setting to explore a microcosm of the world. The story takes place in the 1940s, standing on the threshold of a modern era. The novel's characters are each expressed like a caricature, with one quality or trait over-emphasized, as Mahfouz satirizes the character type. Key figures include Abbas, a barber who joins the British army to earn money to marry Hamida; Salim Alwan, a wealthy businessman who competes for Hamida but suffers a heart attack; and Ibrahim Faraj, a pimp who tries to seduce Hamida. The novel also features Dr. Booshy, who steals false teeth off dead bodies, and Zaita, the cripple maker who aids him. A 1995 Mexican film based on the novel is titled *El callejón de los milagros*.

Did You Know?

• Mahfouz's novel *Midaq Alley* was first published in Arabic in 1947 and in English in 1966.
• The story is set in Midaq Alley in Khan el-Khalili, a back street in Cairo presented as a microcosm of the world.
• The novel takes place in the 1940s and represents standing on the threshold of a modern era in Cairo.
• Each character in *Midaq Alley* is expressed like a caricature, with one quality or trait over-emphasized.
• A 1995 Mexican film based on the novel is titled *El callejón de los milagros*.