Playing with narrative style

By Naguib Mahfouz

The first work I read by Al-Hakim was Ahl Al-Kahf. But of all his works it was the novel 'Awdat Al-Ruh which had the greatest impact on me, for I had never before read a novel of such beauty, elegance and ease. But when I became more mature I realised that Al-Hakim's true accomplishment was as a playwright rather than as a novelist, and that 'Awdat Al-Ruh is nothing but a play written in narrative style, but basically consisting of dialogue and stage settings. Indeed, 'Awdat Al-Ruh influenced my fiction writing as much as the works of El-Mazni and Taha Hussein. The influence of 'Awdat al-Rawh on me went way beyond that of Dr Mohamed Hussein Heikal's novel Zeinab which barely left any effect on me; in fact I think I forgot all about it as soon as I put it down.

Al-Hakim was the first Egyptian to become a professional writer, making of writing his full time vocation and sole source of income. Before him none of our great writers was entirely devoted to writing, and only wrote in the spare time left them by their main profession. Dr Taha Hussein, for example, was a university professor, critic and thinker, and would, in summer, write a novel on the side. 'Awdat Al-Wa'i was, I remember, the only work of Al-Hakim's that he showed me before publication... Other than that, he never showed me any of his works before going to print. In my view, this may be because his best works were published before 1947, which marked the beginning of our acquaintance and a friendship that lasted for 40 years...

Al-Hakim's 'Awdat Al-Wa'i constitutes the first truly direct, acerbic critique of the Nasser era in contemporary Egyptian literature, particularly in view of the fact that it was published immediately after Nasser's death. Al-Hakim had read us -- Ibrahim Pasha Farag and I -- the manuscript. At the time, I thought to myself that the work could never see the light of day and that Al-Hakim was probably intending to arrange for it to be published after his death. Indeed, my hunch was confirmed when Al-Hakim said that the manuscript was a secret and that he was showing it to us in confidence. Later I discovered that it was Al-Hakim's custom, dating all the way back to Ahl Al-Kahf, to intimate to whoever he showed a manuscript of his how secret and dangerous it was in order to draw attention to the work. Only a few days after he read us 'Awdat Al-Wa'i the book was published in Lebanon, much to my surprise. Then I found out that Al-Hakim had contacted a Lebanese publisher and submitted the manuscript to him, suggesting to him, as usual, how secret and explosive it was. Al-Hakim knew, of course, that the Lebanese publisher would print the book, possibly even before reading it all through.

'Awdat Al-Wa'i caused a considerable shock among the intellectuals, since it revealed a viewpoint in stark contrast to the opinions Al-Hakim had so often iterated in the Nasser era and the mutual affection he and Nasser are known to have shared since the revolution. The leader that Al-Hakim had envisioned and dreamt of in 'Awdat Al-Ruh was perceived to be Nasser, and Nasser himself understood it so. Thus he held Al-Hakim in esteem and always treated him graciously. Hence the shock of 'Awdat Al-Wa'i.

Extracted from Ragaa' El-Naqash's Naguib Mahfouz: Safahat min Mudhakiratuh wa Adwa' Gadida ala Adabuh wa Hayatuh (Naguib Mahfouz: Pages from his Memoirs)

Translated by Hala Halim