The greatest Arab novelist of all time passed away this morning. At age 94, Naguib Mahfouz died of complications following a July 19th fall.
Some of my friends had the privilege of visiting Naguib just a few years ago; they found him convalescent, with but little remaining of the spark that relit the Arab literary scene sixty years ago. His Wikipedia biography offers only a cursory look at his life; I will be surprised if it is not presently expanded.
In the Anglosphere, he is best known for Cairo Trilogy and Midaq Alley. Amazon has dozens of translations for sale, mostly for a song. You can also find Naguib (also known as Najib Mahfuz) in any sizable college library.
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