Naguib Mahfouz: THE DAY THE LEADER WAS KILLED

This is a short novel; however, it's impact is resonating. Told in different points of view - that of the patriarch of a working class family in Cairo, that of his grandson's, and that of the grandson's fiancee's - the novel exposes every ordinary family's struggles to cope with the unavoidable changes brought by the open-door economic policy while preserving traditions. It used as a back drop the events leading to the assassination of Anwar Sadat. The novel's unforgettable conclusion coincided with the day the leader (Sadat) was killed. The novel is powerful and significant.

The author, Naguib Mahfouz, an Egyptian, is the first Arab to have won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988.

Rating: 5.0/5.0

{14 Mar 2010}