Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988& 160;& 160;Naguib Mahfouz is perhaps the best-known living& 160;& 160;Arab writer. His books have had great success in& 160;& 160;this country particularly The Cairo& 160;& 160;Trilogy. Fans of the famed trilogy will be& 160;& 160;delighted with The Harafish an epic& 160;& 160;novel that chronicles the dramatic history of the& 160;& 160;al-Nagi family -- a family that& 160;& 160;moves over many generations from the height of power& 160;& 160;and glory to the depths of decadence and decay. & 160;& 160;The Harafish begins with the tale& 160;& 160;of Ashur al-Nagi a man who& 160;& 160;grows from humble beginnings to become a great leader& 160;& 160;a legend among his people. Generation after& 160;& 160;generation however Ashur's descendants grow further& 160;& 160;from his legendary example. They lose touch with& 160;& 160;their origins as they amass and then squander large& 160;& 160;fortunes marry prostitutes when they marry at all& 160;& 160;and develop rivalries that end in death. The& 160;& 160;community's upper class keeps a watchful eye on the& 160;& 160;descendants of al-Nagi for fear& 160;& 160;of losing their privileges but they find no threat& 160;& 160;of another such as Ashur. Not that is until the& 160;& 160;al-Nagi who like his noble& 160;& 160;ancestor finds his power once again from among& 160;& 160;The Harafish or the common people. & 160;& 160;Through the strength of their numbers and their& 160;& 160;passion the glory of the name of& 160;& 160;al-Nagi is restored. 'Of all& 160;& 160;[Mahfouz's] experiments in recent decades this& 160;& 160;is the one which owes least to western inspiration& 160;& 160;and is probably the most successful. The& 160;& 160;Harafish fluently translated by& 160;& 160;Catherine Cobham makes accessible and engrossing reading. '& 160;& 160;-- The Washington Post Book& 160;& 160;World. Language: English