Children of the Alley : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: A history of the world
Review: This is a wonderful book describing the history of the world through happenings of an alley in Cairo. I was impressed with the story, re-telling stories about the lives of Judeo-Chrisitan and Muslim prophets in a whole new light. If you read one Arabic book, this is the one to read. Enjoy

Rating:
Summary: A must read.
Review: This is probably the only book over a 100 page long that I finished. This is the history of mankind, since adam and eve, as never been told before.

Rating:
Summary: (3.5) A cautionary tale
Review: Through a succession of generations and characters Mafouz makes a strong case for humanity's penchant for forgetting the lessons learned by historical perspective.

In the beginning, an eldest son is cast from his father's house, and loses his inheritance, which goes to a son by a different mother. Like the serpent in the Garden of Eden, this next inheriting son is tempted, and also falls prey to his human failings. The two cast-out sons establish residence in the alley outside the opulent security of their father's house. They spend their lives waiting to be forgiven, for their "ancestor" (father) to call them and their families back into the fold. In this way, the sons and the son's sons live the life of the alley, a microcosm of the misery of mankind, where the strong feed on the weak and violence dominates.

The story becomes an allegory for all of mankind seeking salvation and forgiveness, a return to the source from which we came. Some of the descendants claim to have visions of their "ancestor" (God), changing their lives completely, spreading a doctrine of love and renewal; as well, each generation in the alley produces a "prophet". Life becomes so desperate that the people willingly change their ways and temporary peace settles on the alley. In each case, over time, all is forgotten and the people fall into despair again. And so the cycle repeats. The reader is left to look inward at his own role, his own small history, whether to choose the light or the darkness.