CHILDREN OF THE ALLEY ( MAHFOUZ, NAGUIB )

Naguib Mahfouz guides us on a journey through the history of the tumultuous alley belonging to a delightful - and sometimes diabolical - Egyptian family: the descendants of a man named Gabalawi. We accompany them in their struggles to right their wrongs, to eke out a better existence for themselves and their cohorts - and we discover a second, hidden, and daring narrative: the spiritual history of humankind. From the supreme feudal lord who disowns one son for cruel pride and puts another to the test, to the savior of a succeeding generation who frees his people from bondage, we find the men and women of a modern Cairo neighborhood unwittingly reenacting the lives of their holy ancestors: the "children of the alley."