What ?Isa ibn Hisham Told Us: Or, A Period of Time (Library of Arabic Literature #37)
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- Synopsis
- Trenchant and witty critiques of life in Cairo under British ruleWhat ?Isa ibn Hisham Told Us is a masterpiece of early twentieth-century Arabic prose. Penned by the Egyptian journalist Mu?ammad al-Muwayli?i, this highly original work was first introduced in serialized form in his family’s pioneering newspaper Mi?ba? al-Sharq (Light of the East) and later published in book form in 1907. Widely hailed for its erudition and mordant wit, What ?Isa ibn Hisham Told Us was embraced by Egypt’s burgeoning reading public and soon became required reading for generations of school students.Bridging classical genres and modern Arabic fiction, What ?Isa ibn Hisham Told Us is divided into two parts. Sarcastic in tone and critical in outlook, the first part of the book relates the excursions of its narrator, ?Isa ibn Hisham, and his companion, the Pasha, through a rapidly westernizing Cairo and provides vivid commentary on a society negotiating—however imperfectly—the clash between traditional norms and imported cultural values. The second half takes the narrator to Paris to visit the Exposition Universelle of 1900, where al-Muwaylihi casts a critical eye on European society, modernity, and the role of Western imperialism as it ripples across the globe.Paving the way for the modern Arabic novel, What ?Isa ibn Hisham Told Us is invaluable both for its insight into colonial Egypt and its pioneering role in Arabic literary history.An English-only edition.
- Copyright:
- 2011
Book Details
- Book Quality:
- Publisher Quality
- ISBN-13:
- 9781479820993
- Related ISBNs:
- 9781479840915
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- Date of Addition:
- 11/22/23
- Copyrighted By:
- Muhammad Al-Muwaylihi, Roger Allen, Maria Golia
- Adult content:
- No
- Language:
- English
- Has Image Descriptions:
- No
- Categories:
- History, Nonfiction, Literature and Fiction
- Submitted By:
- Bookshare Staff
- Usage Restrictions:
- This is a copyrighted book.
- Foreword by:
- Maria Golia
- Translator:
- Roger Allen
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- by Roger Allen
- by Maria Golia
- by Mu?ammad al-Muwayli?i
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