“Miramar” by Naguib Mahfouz is a sweet and delicate novel capable of showing the Egyptian political scene in Alexandria in the 60s. Miramar “Alexandria at the end.

Alexandria, rain of dew, eruption of white clouds. Cradle of rays washed in the water of heaven, heart of memories soaked in honey and tears.” Thus begins the story of the Miramar, the guesthouse of a somewhat decayed elegance that preserves traces of a grandiose past beneath the damp stains.

But the true protagonist is Alexandria, which offers a complex and profound portrait of Egypt, of its contradictory and problematic soul, with a sense of nostalgia that nevertheless knows how to mix with a smile. It’s 1966.

At the Miramar, guests parade, embodying the different souls of Egyptian society. In a constant alternation between past and present, from narrator to narrator, the stories of the various guests unfold:

Amor Wagdi, a retired journalist who served in the liberal nationalist party and now returns to the Miramar after twenty years to settle there and never leave again; the elderly aristocrat Tolba Marzuq; the young conqueror Sarhan al-Buheiri; the landowner Hosni Allam; the Radio Alexandria announcer Mansur Bahi; as well as the guesthouse’s owner, Mariana, and her maid, Zahra, a beautiful young peasant whose relationships with others symbolically reflect the country’s main political and social realities. Homage to Alexandria “Miramar” by Naguib Mahfouz is a sweet and welcoming book that leads us to discover and rediscover the beauty of Alexandria during the 1960s, one of the last moments of absolute glory for the famous maritime city.

It also contains countless references and commentaries on the political life of the time, profoundly affected by the impact of Nasser and Arab socialism in general. It’s no coincidence that the characters are so diverse in personality and social class; it serves to show more than ever the soul of Egypt in the midst of the revolutionary period; all of this is tackled in Naguib Mahfouz’s typical style: profound, welcoming, and elegant, like a grandfather’s memories.

Naguib Mahfouz’s ‘Miramar’ will be one of the protagonists of Medio Oriente e Dintorni’s ‘Guide’ to Egypt, due out on 25 January, so much so that this article was written for the occasion. Follow me on Facebook, Spotify, YouTube, and Instagram, or subscribe to my Telegram channel or newsletter (released on the 7th of every month); you’ll find all the links in one place: here.

Every like, share or support is welcome and helps me to devote myself more and more to my passion: telling the story of the Middle East and the “Islamic world”. The post “Miramar” by Naguib Mahfouz appeared first on Medio Oriente e Dintorni.