Book of dreams

By Naguib Mahfouz

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My last book, Ahlam Fatrat Al- Naqaha (Dreams of Convalescence), has just been published by Dar Al- Shuruq in Arabic. The French edition of the same book appeared early last year, the English edition four months ago.

Usually translations appear after the work is published in its original language, but here the process was reversed. It all started when Rocher, a French publication house, offered to translate the work, which has been serialised in local publications, into French, with an introduction by Mohamed Salmawy. The French published the work, containing 65 dreams, last year. A sequel, taking us through to the 150th dream, is about to come out.

The English edition, The Dreams, translated by Raymond Stock, was launched by AUC Press last September, on my 93rd birthday. Then the Arabic edition came out. Sanaa El-Bisi, chief editor of Nisf Al- Dunya -- the magazine that serialised the work -- gave Dar Al- Shuruq permission to publish the entire work of 150 dreams and wrote the introduction.

Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy.