Morning and Evening Talk (25 page)

The novel opens with a tragic event, the death of a child, that in many ways sets the scene for what is to come.
Morning and Evening Talk
is a tale of endings and cruel twists of fate: children die before their parents; husbands perish, leaving families to struggle on meager means; and characters see their fortunes reversed overnight as their party or patron falls out of favor, or when war and other events over which they have no control appear out of nowhere. Yet the book is not without hope, for the
corollary of sudden downfall is swift ascent—the July Revolution may be bad news for Halim, Hamid, and Hasan, but for Abduh, Mahir, and Hakim, it brings promotion and fortune, even if such things tend to be transitory in Mahfouz’s world. Moreover, the eccentric person of Radia, and the friendship and humor that punctuate the narrative, are evidence enough that the indomitable spirit of Egypt lives on in the modern era, unscathed by all the change and upheaval.

Like many of Mahfouz’s novels,
Morning and Evening Talk
is also a search. It is a journey through the homes, cafés, offices, and other haunts of the everyday Egyptian, watching and listening carefully in order to assess whether Egypt is better off now than it was back in 1798. It would be disingenuous to suggest there is a simple answer to such a question, and Mahfouz is certainly too wise to imply one. Instead he paints a vivid picture of Egypt over several generations and leaves readers to make up their own minds.

I would like to thank Feras Hamza, Philip Stewart, and Sabry Hafez for their invaluable help.

Christina Phillips