Miramar (Drama)

by Naguib Mafouz

Published: Anchor, Reissue edition (January 14, 1993)

Softcover 192 pages

    “I liked the weather in Alexandria. It suited me. Not just the days of clear blue and gold sun; I also liked the occasional spells of storm, when the clouds thickened, making dark mountains in the sky, the face of morning glooming onto the road. The roads of the sky would be suddenly hushed into ominous silence. A gust of wind would circulate, like a warning cry or an orator clearing his throat; a branch would start dancing, a skirt would lift- and then it would pounce wildly, thundering as far as the horizon. The sea would rage high, foam breaking on the very curbs of the streets. Thunder would bellow its escaticies out of an unknown world; lightning would corsucate, dazzling eyesight, electrifying the world. The rain pouring down would hug earth and sky in a wet embrace, elements mixing their waring natures to grapple and heave as if a new world were about to be born.”

    Set in 1960s Alexandria, Egypt. The action takes place around a pension (a bed and breakfast for extended stay customers) above the Miramar cafe. A girl, fresh from a small village, has run away from her family and an arranged marriage,  and works as a servant in the pension. She is a symbol of Egypt itself- rejecting the old ways, and working hard to educate itself to be self-sufficient. Yet people keep trying to interfere. 

Author Naguib Mafouz

    Like Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, each chapter is written from the perspective of a different character. Each adds to the symbolism, as they represent a different aspect of the rising tide in Egypt at the time. None of them are particularly ideal, but there is little difficulty in telling the different the narrators apart. With the deftness of an observer of human nature we see three young males and their odd attempts to woo Zohra. All are similar, yet each one is distinct. We have the rich boy, ripe in arrogance, who assumes that because she is poor, he could have the girl with a snap of his fingers. The emotional void who is frightened of processing deep emotions, and rejects any idea of happiness for himself. Last is the man who separates love from marriage. Unless a marriage can propel him upwards socially, he feels no need to indulge in it. All three of the ideologies come to blows surrounding the lovely Zhora, resulting in a murder.

    There are numerous references made to the political turmoil in Egypt during that time period. Effectively the country had gone through a series of revolutions Some readers might not be aware of the various political upheavals of the country, but at the time of the novel, it is just a few years after the 1952 revolution which completely abolished the monarchy and was setting about tearing down those nobles who had profited from it. The government was a fiercely nationalistic one, with various communist and Islamic fanatics skirting around the corners. If you’ve never heard of this before, well join the club. I had only a cursory knowledge of these events and that didn’t prevent me from enjoying the book.

           For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst.