The Beggar, The Thief And The Dogs, Autumn Quail

Assembled here is a collection of Mahfouz's artful meditations on the vicissitudes of post-Revolution Egypt. Diverse in style and narrative technique, together they render a rich, nuanced, and universally resonant vision of modern life in the Middle East.

'The Beggar' is a complex tale of alienation and despair. In the aftermath of Nasser's revolution, a man sacrifices his work and family to a series of illicit love affairs. Released from jail in post Revolutionary times, the hero of 'The Thief and the Dogs' blames an unjust society for his ill fortune, eventually bringing himself to destruction. 'Autumn Quail' is a tale of moral responsibility, isolation, and political downfall about a corrupt bureaucrat who is one of the early victims of the purge after the 1952 revolution in Egypt.