palace walk. naguib mahfouz
He was forty-five and still enjoyed an ardent and exuberant vigor like that of an adolescent youth. His life was composed of a diversity of mutually contradictory elements, wavering between piety and depravity. Contradictory, though they were, they all met with his satisfaction, without needing to be propped up by any pillar of personal philosophy or hypocritical rationalization. His conduct issued directly from his special nature. Having a clear conscience, he was good-hearted and sincere in everything he did. His breast was not shaken by storms of doubt. His faith was deep (…)
With the same ardent, overflowing vitality he opened his breast to the joys and pleasures of life. He delighted in fancy food. He was enchanted by vintage wine. He was crazy about a pretty face.
Iata pasajul care il descrie pe personajul cel mai important al cartii , capul unei familii din Cairo, undeva la 1911. E pasajul meu preferat din Palace Walk, caci aici Naguib Mahfouz da dovada de o fina psihologie a mentalitatii egiptene, dar, surprizator, mult mai cuprinzatoare decat aceasta. Da, Al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad poate sa reprezinte multi dintre barbatii din zilele noastre, iar actiunile si gandurile sale sunt cat se poate de relevante pentru asta.
Palace Walk spune de fapt povestea unei familii din Cairo, iar autorul reuseste sa prezinte atat de intim personajele incat nu ai cum sa nu traiesti fiecare intamplare ca si cum tu ai fi protagonistul. Cel putin eu asa am simtit.
O sa-i descoperi pe:
Al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, tatal autoritar si petrecaret, Aisha cea frumoasa, Amina – mama iubitoare, supusa si tematoare, Fahmy, visatorul. Kamal, mezinul, cel care pune mereu intrebari incomode. Khadija cea certareata, Yasin, fiul din alta casatorie si Umm Hanafi, servitoarea familiei.
Fiecare iti va spune povestea vietii sale.
Eu am citit cartea in engleza si pot spune ca Naguib e al doilea autor de fictiune care mi-a placut enorm sa-l citesc in engleza. Primul ramane Murakami. Citez inca doua pasaje, cu gandul ca in curand ma apuc sa citesc si celelalte doua carti care au urmat dupa Palace Walk si care fac parte din Trilogia Cairo, anume Palace of Desire si Sugar Street.
She knew it came from his lips and not his heart, which felt quite the opposite way. He was like a mother cat which appears to be devouring her kittens when she is actually carrying them.
When i laugh, I like to resound from the depths of my sincere heart. An anxious heart is like a string that’s out of tune.
Editia pe care am citit-o eu, in format Kindle, are spre final, urmatoarea nota a lui Naguib Mahfouz: ‘I want to thank Jacquelin Kennedy Onassis for her sensitive editing’. Naguib Mahfouz, nascut in Cairo, in 1911, lua in 1988 premiul Nobel pentru literatura. Mi-a placut o parte din speech-ul sau de la premiul Nobel care zice cam asa:
Yes, how did the man coming from the Third World find the peace of mind to write stories? Fortunately, art is generous and sympathetic. In the same way that it dwells with the happy ones it does not desert the wretched. It offers both alike the convenient means for expressing what swells up in their bosom.
Palace Walk, in romana, poate fi achizitionata