About this title: The nameless narrator of this Sudanese novel (translated from the Arabic) returns home to his village on the Nile after studying in England. There he encounters a man named Mustafa Sa'eed, who has also spent time in London, where his goal was to seduce as many white women as possible. When he in turn becomes obsessed with a woman as cold-hearted as he is himself, he can get free of her only by killing her. After a stint in prison, he returns home and tells his story to the narrator. Or are he and the narrator one and the same man?
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Description: Acceptable. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: NYRB Classics
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781590173022ISBN:1590173023
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: New York Review of Books
Date Published: 2009-04-14
ISBN-13:9781590173022ISBN:1590173023
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9781590173022. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Lynne Rienner Publishers
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9780894101991ISBN:0894101994
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Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Heinemann International Literatu
Date Published: 1991
ISBN-13:9780435909741ISBN:0435909746
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Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Lynne Rienner Publishers
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9780894101991ISBN:0894101994
Description: Acceptable. -Acceptable: A readable copy. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (the dust cover may be missing). Pages can include considerable notes--in pen or highlighter--but the notes cannot obscure the text. About Austin eBooks Austin eBooks is committed to providing each customer with the highest standard of customer service! We add inventory to our store daily, and guarantee order processing and shipment within 2 business days. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Lynne Rienner Publishers
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9780894101991ISBN:0894101994
Description: Good. Cover and pages may have some wear or writing. Binding is tight. We ship daily Monday-Friday. Delivery Confirmation included on all domestic orders. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Heinemann
Date Published: 1970
ISBN-13:9780435900663ISBN:0435900668
Description: Good. Used Condition-GOOD can be a well cared for Book that is in great condition to a Book that may show some signs of wear. GOOD Books sometimes are permanently marked; have some spine or page creases; exibit signs of aging or an ExLibrary copy. ** Sometimes grease pencil or permanent marking on cover. May contain limited notes and or highlighting. 100% Satisfaction guaranteed on all purchases. ** SHIPS FROM USA-Domestic Delivery takes 5-14 days ** read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Three Continents Press
Date Published: 1980
ISBN-13:9780894101991ISBN:0894101994
Description: Good. Used Condition-GOOD can be a well cared for Book that is in great condition to a Book that may show some signs of wear. GOOD Books sometimes are permanently marked; have some spine or page creases; exibit signs of aging or an ExLibrary copy. ** Sometimes grease pencil or permanent marking on cover. May contain limited notes and or highlighting. 100% Satisfaction guaranteed on all purchases. ** SHIPS FROM USA-Domestic Delivery takes 5-14 days ** read more
"A story essentially about 2 men, one the narrator and the other an older man, who meet randomly in the village. Both men, originally from the Sudan, had spent time in the UK for studies at different periods and this they have in common, but whilst the one is a family man and quite conservative the other, older man, was more calculating and had used his uniqueness in London as a method for seducing different English women. It's an interesting story, quite graphic (sexually) in places which was unexpected for a book translated from Arabic. It was also a less depressing story than a lot of the other Arabic books (translated into English) that I have read which made it a fast and easy read for a change."
"i won't be missing the voice of mustafa sa'eed. but, as the narrator points out, both sides carry out melodramatic acts--the invaders to the south and the invader to the north. still, not much fun to read those parts; like watching the ernest movies as meta-comedies. on the other hand, there are patches of chapters with unmatched lucidity on the relationship between north and south in a single person, on the narrator exiled from himself because of the wedge driven by mustafa's stories (true or false). there's no reconciliation--just a cold current pulling him down that makes him choose to act (spoiler alert?)."
"What a gem of Sudanese literature this little novel is. It is around 160 pages and packs quite a punch. The narrator has returned to his Sudanese village after living abroad for seven years. He sees an unfamiliar face among his neigbors and kinsmen and learns that the stranger's name is Mustafa. Mustafa has settled in the village and married a local woman but not much is known about him. Over the course of the novel, we learn Mustafa's story and come to know aspects of both England and Sudan that don't fit into tidy little boxes. The battle of the sexes wages on throughout the book. It is not about things like doors being held open while other doors are kept closed. The battle of the sexes this book describes is a brutal war, costing lives on every side of the gender divide. I found myself unsettled each time I read about tea being brought, men being served and obeyed. But the novel continued to suprise me in its sharp-eyed appraisal of the reality of the human condition. Read it side-by-side with Heart of Darkness."
"Dear Panel of Arab Writers and Critics who, in 2001, Selected this Book as the Most Important Arab Novel of the Twentieth Century:
I'm not quibbling with your choice. I don't know enough Arab literature to quibble. I'm appalled by how little Arab literature has been translated into English. That said, I have to ask: Is this really the best you got? Really? I'm not saying it's bad. Decent story, well-written, and I admired the author's use of time, his ability to shift so seamlessly into various portions of the past. Mustafa was also a pretty alluring character. And the way you used the Nile: top notch. And yet, a lot of it was awful obvious, wasn't it--the themes, the messages, the symbolism, even the story? And it never really leapt into that rarefied magical air that usually hovers around books called the greatest, did it? So while it's not bad, I'm simply inclined to think that you must have had some that were better. But then maybe it's a cultural thing. After all, given Melville's depiction of Queequeg, you're probably wondering at our rapture with MOBY DICK.
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