Egypt and the Arab world have recently had their dreams of dominance in the Middle East burst by a swift Israeli victory in the 1967 war. But the revolution is still the driving force behind the young people of the country. Naguib Mahfouz follows a representative group of young revolutionaries who congregate at the Karnak Café and discuss the politics of their country. We read of the events of their lives, whether love affairs or imprisonment and torture. After their stories are all told and the remaining young revolutionaries meet in the Café, they have one final look to the future.
Remember that in this country we are told that there is a solid Arab or Moslem jihad against the United States: every man, woman, child, dog, or goat in the arab lands is full of hatred for Americans and will stop at nothing to kill Americans and destroy the United States. True, it’s the later part of the sixties but wasn’t the anti-Israeli and anti-American sentiment even greater then? But this is what Mahfouz writes:
A Celebration of Reading 