Short Story Writers From Egypt

"You need to focus on the numbers you'll see in these cases and the dates, because there's a puzzle you need to solve to save yourself from the possession that has struck. Thirty living dead and dead living, with a wound on their backs bearing the letter Gh, and people acting unconsciously, or are they possessed?""

"Have you ever felt like you possess 99 souls in one body, souls that are neither human nor imaginary, but of a different kind? Their price isn't money, nor is it human, you'll know their price when you get to know Asirkas and read all his cases."

"Daughter, I’m not crying now because I’m fed up or regret that the Lord created me a woman. No, it’s not that. It’s just that I’m sad about my life and my youth that have come and gone without my knowing how to live them really and truly as a woman."

"She returned to the living room and poured out the coffee for herself. She was surprised at how calm she was."

"“Father, you gave me a real beating tonight.”"

"The fact is there’s no joy for a girl in growing up, it’s just one disaster after another till you end up an old woman who’s good for nothing and who’s real lucky if she finds someone to feel sorry for her."

"An idea would obtrude itself upon me sometimes: did Cleopatra, the very legend of love, have sexual intercourse with her serpent after having given up sleeping with men, having wearied of amorous adventures with them so that her sated instincts were no longer moved other than by the excitement of fear, her senses no longer aroused other than by bites from a snake? And the last of her lovers had been a viper that had destroyed her."

"(AWS, 1987; Page 8)"

"(AWS, 1987; Page 71)"

"Isn’t it better, when he returns, for your father to find himself with a legitimate son [rather] than an illegitimate grandson?"

"(AWS, 1987; Page 75)"

"“Only blood,” he said, “washes dishonor clean.”"

"Perfect beauty is to be found only in woman,’ she said, ‘so yield to me and I shall let you taste undreamed of happiness…’"

"There was no doubt but that the secret of my passion for her, my preoccupation with her, was due to the excitement that had aroused, through intense fear, desire within myself; an excitement that was sufficiently strong to drive the blood hotly through my veins whenever the memory of her came to me, thrusting the blood in bursts that made my heart beat widly, my limbs limp."

"Abbas now marveled at the strength of love, its power and its strange magic. He thought it right that God had created mankind capable of love and then left the task of developing life to the fertility of love."

"A look of vehemence appeared on the king's face. "Is it right that Pharao should yield to the will of the people?"

"Sire, after you, no one from your seed shall sit upon the throne of Egypt."

"She is beauty herself, Your Majesty. She is an irresistible temptation, a desire that cannot be controlled. The philosopher Hof, who is one of her closest friends, has remarked quite correctly that the most dangerous things a man can do in his life is to set eyes upon the face of Rhadopis."

"And of what value is the life of an individual? It equals not a single dry tear to one who looks to the far future and the grand plan. For this I would be cruel without any qualms. I would strike with an iron hand, and drive hundreds of thousands through hardships-not from stupidity of character or despotic egotism."

"It is something worth picking from the thrash-can the alluring experience of the working days."

"God did not intend religion to be an exercise club."

"What hopeless wretches we are. Our country is pitiful and so are the people. Why is it that the only time we find a little happiness is when the world is involved in a bloody war? Surely it's only the devil who has pity on us in this world."

"Some consider that such tragedies afflicting apparently blameless people are signs of revengeful justice, the wisdom of which is beyond the understanding of most people. So you will hear them say that if the bereaved father, for example, thought deeply, he would realize his loss was just a punishment for some sin either he or his forebears committed. Yet surely God is more just and merciful than to treat the innocent as the guilty..."

"He and Raifa each lived in hell, in a world of tedium."

"Why do people laugh, dance in triumph, feel recklessly secure in positions of power? Why do they not remember the true place in the scheme of things and their inevitable end?"

"[....] was struck by the idea of a woman's weakness is her emotions, and that her relationships with men should be rational and calculated. Life is precious, with vast possibilities, limitless horizons. Love is nothing more than a blind beggar, creeping around the alleyways."

"In the Harafish, dreams are carried on the shoulders of ordinary people."

"The Harafish is a reflection of the eternal struggle between good and evil."

"The Harafish is a labyrinth where the paths of the lowly and the noble intertwine."

"You will never accuse me of meekness hereafter, Father, for I am swept by a sacred desire, strong as the northern winds, a desire to know the truth and record it, as you did in the prime of your youth."

"Kirsha thought of Hitler as the world's greatest bully; indeed his admiration for him stemmed from what he heard of his cruelty and barbarity. He wished him success, viewing him like those mythical bravados of literature Antar and Abu Zaid."

"My lord, Your Divine Majesty! Why differentiate your lofty self from the people of Egypt, as one would the head from the heart or the soul from the body? You are, my lord, the token of their honor, the mark of their eminence, the citadel of their strength, and the inspiration for their power. You have endowed them with life, glory, might, and happiness. In their affection there is neither humiliation nor enslavement; but rather, a beautiful loyalty and venerable love for you, and for the homeland."

"If money is the aim and object of those who squabble for power, then there is clearly no harm in money being the objective of the poor voters."

"The barber is young and Mr. Alwan is old; the barber is of the same class as Hamida and Mr. Alwan is not. The marriage of a man like Alwan to a girl like your daughter is bound to bring problems which will make her unhappy."

"Patience allows ministers and obedient subjects to bear great tribulations-but the greatness of kings is in overcoming calamities, not enduring them. For this reason, the gods have compensated them for their want of patience with an abundance of power."

"It was amazing that in this country where people allowed emotion to guide their politics they approached love with the precision of accountants."

"If there was a dog in the house—other than its owner, of course—it would now fill the universe with barking."

"(Said, p. 14)"

"(Narrator, p. 49)"

"You always act impulsively, Said, without thinking, but you mustn't rush this time; you must wait until you've arranged things, then swoop like an eagle."

"(Said, p. 69)"

"With this revolver I can awake those who are asleep. They're the root of the trouble. They're the ones who've made creatures like Nabawiyya, Ilish, and Rauf Ilwan possible."

"(Said, p. 84)"

"A city of silence and truth, where success and failure, murderer and victim, come together, where thieves and policemen lie side by side in peace for the first and last time."

"(Narrator, p. 89)"

"The silence of the graves is more intense, but you can't switch on the light...Your eyes will get used to the dark."

"(Said, p. 95)"

"There's a lot of intelligence in his eyes. His heart is as spotless as yours. You'll find he'll turn out, with God's will, a truly good man.""

"(Said, quoting the Sheikh, p. 102)"

"It's fantastic the way these young men act. Why, they scarcely have a penny to their names, yet they see no reason why they shouldn't get married and populate the whole alley with children who get their food from garbage carts."