Book Description
A stunning novel by the widest-read Arab writer currently published in the U.S. The age of Nasser has ushered in enormous social change, and most of the middle-aged and middle-class sons and daughters of the old bourgeoisie find themselves trying to recreate the cozy, enchanted world they so dearly miss. One night, however, art and reality collide--with unforeseen circumstances.
Customer Reviews:
An Egyptian 'Betrayal of the scholars'........2002-09-07
Intellectuals gather every evening on a boat for drug and sex parties. One of them writes a play with the members of the group as main characters. Their common attitude: flight for reality, nihilism and defeatism. The fervour after the Nasser revolution is gone: "Revolutions are planned by cunning foxes, fought by the brave and won by the cowards."
But ultimately they are confronted with reality when one of them kills a person in a car accident and flees. Will the name of the culprit be revealed to the police? The group falls apart.
Mahfouz punches Samuel Beckett and his 'theatre of the absurd' K.O. when he cleverly remarks that Beckett filed a complaint against an editor who failed to fulfil his contract. His plays may be absurd, but not the royalties. It was all just a pose.
Indeed, more a book for Egyptian readers, but also with a universal theme: don't shun your responsibilities.
Highly recommended.
Mahfouz charms the Nile!.......2002-08-12
Winning the Nobel Prize for literature (in 1988) certainly didn't hurt him any, and
now Naguib Mahfouz has become a house-hold name (for the literati, at least). When
one reads a Prize-winner, one expects substance and style, and Mahfouz, if his
translators are honest, certainly seems worthy of the Swedish honor. In "Adrift on the
Nile," nihilism is the word, as a group of like minded intellectuals gather nightly on a
houseboat moored on the famous river where they question anything that can be
questioned--"but no answers," they claim. "There are never any answers," as they call
into account any topic brought up. It is a "din in iniquity," for sure, as good Egyptian
kif (and a well-stoked pipe) help to bring out their curiousity cum intellect. That is,
until, toward the end of this short novel, the group takes a ride out into the desert
where a disaster happens. It's Jay Gatsby, final chapter, of course.
Mahfouz is compared to Proust, Camus, Salinger, and an introspective Hemingway,
and justifiably so. Hailed as the "widest-read Arab writer currently published in the
U.S.," Mahfouz has certainly wielded his own influence among international readers
since the '88 Prize; alas, it seems it took the impact of this award for his books to
achieve their circulation, but that doesn't diminish his themes, his philosophies, his
impact on both socially significant issues and modern literature.
"Adrift on the Nile" reads fast and it is short; yet it packs a punch that seems to score
to the very soul. The houseboat literally becomes a ship of fools, adrift on the
Sargasso Sea, headed into the Bermuda triangle. Existentialists will love this one.
(Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)
Prize-winning?.......2002-04-21
This is the third book that I've read by Mahfouz. I believe it will be the last. I started reading him because he is, after all, a Nobel Prize-winning author. I couldn't figure out why after reading "Respected Sir" or "The Search" and I'm still not sure after "Adrift on the Nile". However, this last book was the best of the three and you might want to read it and judge for yourself. It's short and won't take long to read. I found it surprizing to read about such a decadent group of individuals partaking of their illegal substances in the middle of Cairo. The basic plot, as I understood it, has to do with examining the reactions of artistic intelligentia with cold hard reality. How do people who search for "Truth" handle the truth? We'll at least he didn't drag it out. I'm not sure why Mahfouz won the Nobel Prize but I'm through trying to find out.
Adrift on the Nile.......2001-08-06
A sort of Eqyptian Bartelby the Scrivener meets Brian de Palma. The book portrays a group of overeducated and generally understimulated, underemployed professionals who meet nightly in a hookah ritual that seems to roll on like the everpresent Nile until the one night when an outing changes things forever. The book marvelously conveys modern aimlessness, ennui, and the haunting presence of the past. Short, but depressing.
captivating and intriguing book.......1997-08-19
I truly enjoyed this book. I'd actually rate it 8.5 on the 1-10 scale. The passion and readability of Adrift on the Nile led me to other works of Mafouz, all of which provide the unique entertainment experience that comes only from a mesmerizing novel . Being such a short book, Adrift on the Nile is impossible to put down once started
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Adrift on the Nile
Naguib Mahfouz
Manufacturer: The American University in Cairo Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Arabic
| Middle Eastern
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 977424530X |
Product Description
Paperback book printed in Egypt by the American University in Cairo Press.
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Adrift on the Nile
Naguib Mahfouz
Manufacturer: Anchor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Arabic
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| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
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ASIN: B000N74IWG |
Book Description
Fugitive Kait Galweigh battles the despotic Crispin Sabir for an ancient artifact called the Mirror of Souls. Kait believes the Mirror's magic will restore life to her massacred kin; Crispin believes the object will make him a god. Both are terribly wrong. For the Mirror contains the captive spirits of the Dragons-long-dead sorcerers who once conquered the world. And the Secret Texts have foretold that one day, the Dragons will be released in an apocalyptic war. But the Dragons have also read the Secret Texts and have been waiting a millennium for revenge-making sure they will control which prophecies do, and do not, come true...
Download Description
The Secret Texts trilogy is the story of the deadly fight of smaller and weaker opponents against the enormous forces that wield evil magic in the world of Matrin. Over the course of the three-book series, a magical war threatening the people of an entire world will challenge the ingenuity of our heroes. In VENGEANCE OF DRAGONS, Kait and her allies have found the mysterious Mirror of Souls and are growing uneasy about its use and true purpose. While they are sailing for home on Ry's ship, Ry's three evil cousins are cementing their alliance with the wizard souls trapped in the Mirror of Souls. In exchange for stealing the mirror from Kait to help the wizards gain their freedom, the three cousins have been assured of their own immortality and power. Meanwhile, much-abused cousin Danya has allied with an evil wizard, promising him new life in the body of her unborn child. Their goal: to amass a terrible military force and take control of the world.
Customer Reviews:
Vengence of Dragons - Book 2 of the secret Texts.......2005-04-06
I enjoyed this book and the series. I read Jordan and Goodkind and this was a nice departure. The world crafting is nice with the integration of technology and magic into them as well as the story line. The morphing aspects are intriguing and give the story something to wrap itself around.
Will leave you breathless!.......2003-10-23
We continue where Diplomacy of Wolves cut us off so abruptly. Danya birthed Solander, the Reborn. She still dreamed of revenge against Crispin, Anwyn, and Andrew Sabir, as well as, against her own House.
Ry caught up with Kait and they began their wary dance. In the first book we found out Kait could skinshift to wolf or fish form. Book two showed another form that she and Ry could do. Dughall showed Ry what they were truly fighting for. In doing so, Ry's whole outlook on life changed, along with his priorities. They all join forces.
The Dragons were released from the Veil and possessed the bodies of powerful people. Through their dark magic Calimeeka's fate was sealed. Using the lives and souls of those who dwelled within the city as fuel, a new city emerged. It would not be long before the Dragons would turn their sights beyond the city to the rest of the world.
Luercas remained a curious puzzle in the first book. In this one we learned why he was helping Danya. I can say no more on that without giving away too much.
**** I thought this one to be as awesome as the last! However, again, the reader is left hanging in the middle of a vital second. Consider yourself warned that even though this author is fantastic, it is best NOT to begin reading this trilogy until all three books are released! Unless you have all three before you begin, you will not be satisfied and will probably end up angry. If you purchase all three at once and go from one straight into the next, you are in for a treat! The author weaves a fabulous tapestry of magic that will leave you breathless! ****
Too Much Talking to the Other-selves.......2002-10-01
A good trilogy with very interesting mix of characters. However, characters talk too much to their (other)-selves, and that gets annoying after 500 pages. And, that (thing) happened to reborn is just plain stupid. Oh well... a good read non-the-less if you could withstand some disappointments in the storyline.
Let down.......2002-06-14
I was really disappointed in this book after reading Diplomacy of Wolves. I still like the world, many of the concepts, and the basics of the plot. However, I'm still finding it very difficult to like any of the characters beyond Ian and Kait's uncle. Kait herself is no more likeable than before, and as for Danya . . . Are we supposed to excuse her actions because of the way she's been hurt, or are we supposed to think her evil anyway because she was one of the Galweigh Wolves?
The Kait and Ry storyline, meant to be so significant for both characters, was at first contrived (She has to share his cabin because he came to rescue her? Would we like to create some artificial sexual tension here?) and then nowhere near as deep or moving as it should have been. Another problem I had with the writing was that there weren't many clues as to how much time had passed, and it sometimes seemed as if the story was missing big chunks. And the resemblance between Solander and a certain religion in our own world did annoy me somewhat.
I just found that the whole story was too easy, somehow. The Dragons waltz in and transform things with their magic, and then lapse into a life of self-indulgence. It seemed almost embarrassingly easy for Kait and Ry to work their banishment charm tricks on them. And yes, Vengeance of Dragons finishes on a hell of a cliffhanger - but I'm pretty sure I already know what the ultimate ending will be, Luercas or no Luercas.
My hope is that this book is the weak point in the trilogy, and that Courage of Falcons will be as good as Diplomacy of Wolves, if not better. I am still interested enough to want to find out what happens.
Outdoes the first book.......2002-05-11
I enjoyed "Diplomacy of Wolves," but "Vengeance of Dragons" is a tighter, more exciting book. It's slightly weighed down by exposition in the first chapters, which is only natural in the second book of a trilogy, but it soon picks up. There are a lot of plot threads woven in here--the Dragons and the situation in Calimekka, the relationship between Kait and Ry, what happens in the south with Danya and Luercas--but there aren't any meaningless tangents. Things mean something.
This is a strongly moral book. I don't mean that in the bad sense that there are perfect heroes and an evil Dark Lord. The heroes are flawed and the villains are realistically motivated. I mean that it gives you a sense that goodness and nobility and courage are not just abstract concepts, but real things that are worth fighting for and holding onto. It's not a preachy book by any means. It just does the same thing that "Revolutionary Girl Utena" did to me, that "Matendou Sonata" did to me, something that is so rare that I can't think of any less obscure examples. It makes me want to change the world for the better.
Customer Reviews:
Grim adventure against the god of Entropy.......2000-05-02
Here's a rare, high-level adventure (levels 28-32) that pits your heroes against the deadliest enemy of them all, the god of entropy, Alphaks... treason envelopes everything as the PCs are cast into the role of scapegoats and saviors, trying to save a world wrapped in Chaos! An epic adventure, and an excellent way to introduce your players to the realm of the gods.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful solo adventure from the UK.......2000-05-02
Here's a hard to find one-on-one adventure (1 veteran PC vs. the DM) that's near and dear to my heart. It's by UK adventure guru Jim Bambra; with the dramatic, dark writing and the classically bizarre Euro-fantasy illustrations, it reminds me strongly of the best of the Fighting Fantasy books, or even better, Steve Jackson's Sorcery. (Hack, cough, `scuse me, showing my age for a minute there...) Do any of your heroes have a true family history? A legacy? In this story, as a living legend among the elves, you return home to find your lovely forest home of Dorneryll in flames. So begins Chapter 1, and did I mention you'll be fighting an angry red dragon alone? A forgotten classic.
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Drazkon the Defiant: Love Hurts, Vengeance Kills
Zane A. Bastian
Manufacturer: Trafford Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1412002818
Release Date: 2006-07-06 |
Book Description
When an evil warlord and his army take young Drazkon's family from him, two strangers rescue the orphan and vow to raise him. Aspen, the fleet-footed elf, and Exteri, a tiny fairy with a big heart, are these strangers. Aspen, taking on the full responsibility of the child, raises him as a child of the forest; and as Drazkon grew, so did Exteris' fondness for him.
Being in such a sorrowful and hopeless situation, Exteri visits her mother, the eldest and wisest of the fairy kingdom, for advice. Exteris' mother tells her of a legend which sends her and her friends on a very long and dangerous quest, which upon completion would allow Exteri to take human form. With feelings of love mutual between the hulking barbarian and the tiny fairy, Drazkon and his friends set out on their grand adventure with high hopes of success.
Along the way friendships grow stronger, as many dark and evil foes step forward to oppose the companions. Many new friends are acquired along the way; which suits Drazkon just fine, for to him this quest has two main goals; love and vengeance. The physical love he wished to share with Exteri, and the vengeance he vowed to bring upon the evil warlord Maxitor, and his murderous hoard!
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Extreme Vengeance
Manufacturer: Archangel Entertainment
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000BUJMZS |
Product Description
Play an action movie hero in this "explosive action-adventure role-playing extravaganza" in one book. All you need are two or three fellow stars, a hunger for action, and a pile of six-sided dice!
Book Description
Michael is a fairly typical young man who has an unusual fascination with comic books. He is constantly reading them, thinking about them, even creating his own comic book characters to pit against one another in fantastic arenas that exist only in his own mind. For him, reality is only a place to visit when he cannot be in his own world. This humdrum way of life is bound for a change, however. One evening, while out with his friends, the young man finds himself face to face with the Dark Dragon, a creature born of his own imagination. The strange and powerful villain vows revenge on the helpless teenager for a crime he refuses to define, then vanishes. Empowered by a mysterious force he calls the Ether, Michael and his friends must now find a way to stop the Dark Dragon, who seems intent on destroying everything they hold dear.
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Web of Spider-Man #61 : Dragon in the Dark (Acts of Vengeance - Marvel Comics)
Gerry Conway
Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
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Marvel | Publishers | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: B000SSFOZK |
Product Description
3 massmarket paperbacks.
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Mission 4: Hammerhead (Mars Diaries)
Sigmund Brouwer
Manufacturer: Tyndale Kids
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Similar Items:
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Mission 5: Sole Survivor (Mars Diaries)
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Mission 3: Time Bomb (Mars Diaries)
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Mission 6: Moon Racer (Mars Diaries)
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Mission 7: Countdown (Mars Diaries)
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Mission 8: Robot War: Robot War (Mars Diaries)
ASIN: 0842343075 |
Book Description
A deadly comet catapults toward Mars. Only one thing can break up the comet before it does damage: the new Hammerhead torpedo. Tyce Sanders only has two weeks to master it . . . and someone's trying to stop him. In this exciting, fast-paced series that even reluctant readers will love, Tyce not only uncovers this mystery but also learns more about the power of God's love.
Book Description
The Grail Legend takes you back through the centuries to view an emerging family dynasty who may soon attempt to establish One-World goverment.
Customer Reviews:
Looks like church inquisitional apologists hoping to control.......2004-12-02
Wow, would we be in for it if the Inquisitions still controlled life on this planet!! Why none of them can ever figure out that the message was to Love Your Neighbor if you want to see the interdimensional Kingdom of Heaven (and God) within is beyond me!! Sad in that they can't see the kernels of truth in all spiritual systems. Too bad they can't get interested in something like The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manley P. Hall or the new book by John Major Jenkins, Galactic Alignment or David Wilcock's new book on the Oneness taught by some of the mystery schools which had to be "secret" and "mystery" because of the Inquisitional thinking that doesn't seem to go away easily!! How are we ever going to get to Peace in the world with these Inquisitional thinkers feeling superior over other spiritual viewpoints??
Amazing!.......2004-02-18
Rating System:
1 star = abysmal; some books deserve to be forgotten
2 star = poor; a total waste of time
3 star = good; worth the effort
4 star = very good; what writing should be
5 star = fantastic; must own it and share it with others
SYNOPSIS: From back cover..."Guardians of the Grail tells of secret political combines, intrigues, and wars preparing mankind for the antichrist.
MY FEEDBACK:
1) The historical information presented here is just mind-blowing. I'm an avid reader of sci-fi and fantasy but this has taken the cake. Life is truly stranger than fiction! For this reason alone I couldn't put the book down. It was all just too fantastic to think that "grown adults" could believe and propagate those beliefs in others for centuries.
2) At several points I got lost. With the truck load of historical facts presented, there was some jumping around. This lost me and I had to work extra hard at figuring out what and when the author was talking about.
3) At several points I felt the author was rehashing what he had already explained. I was asking myself, "Why are we covering this again? Just to fill pages?"
OVERALL: Even though this book is dated (copyright 1989), the information provided within is just staggering especially in what we've seen in world events since that time. Just phenomenal. Read it.
Good Place to Start When Beginning a Study of the Subject.......2003-12-06
Although I feel the author borrowed too heavily from "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," it is still a good book on the subject. I am a Christian and especially liked that it was written from a Christian perspective. It is written in a flowing style that is easy to follow. I would recommend it for someone who is new to the subject. However, if you've already read "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," I would skip it because the information won't be new to you.
A review.......2001-12-27
This book is shallow and poorly researched with a paucity of sources, few names, dates or places of occurrence related to the subject matter.The author allows his Judeo-Christian bias to completely color the work and his intolerance of other forms of religious observances is a great turn off to the reader.His primary source for his arguments is the Bible with little acknowledgemnent to other viable, valuable and prooven sources of information.In a nutshell - it is purely supermarket checkout stand material. A definite waste of trees to produce the paper to print it on. The only people who would find it valuable are those who already share the author's point of view so why read it at all??
A wake up call.......2000-05-09
I found "Guardians.." to be very fascinating and a must read for anyone who wants to protect their freedom. It is a stepping stone to understanding policies/procedures that affect our health, wealth and very lives today. These people are real and they are very busy behind the scenes and only a few committed crusaders are bold enough to give us the truth. It is well written, the research is sound and I couldn't put it down. I couldn't sleep either. Read it.
Books:
- All He Ever Wanted: A Novel
- All the Finest Girls: A Novel
- All the Queen's Men
- Arsenic lullaby: The devil's hat trick (Arsenic lullaby)
- Billie's Ghost
- Blood Double
- Brothers Majere (Dragonlance: Preludes)
- Brushes with Power: Modern Politics and the Chinese Art of Calligraphy
- Casey's Wall: A Novel
- Challenging Past And Present: The Metamorphosis of Nineteenth-Century Japanese Art
Books Index
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Miramar
The Cairo Trilogy: Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, Sugar Street (Everyman's Library)
Voices from the Other World: Ancient Egyptian Tales
The Day the Leader Was Killed
