Short stories
جمهورية فرحات
Not translated into English
Yusuf Idris · 1956
Synopsis
In a Cairo police station, at night, Sergeant Farhat logs complaints and suspects and brushes off those who come to complain. To pass the time, he tells a well-dressed stranger, held there, the film scenario he has imagined: a poor Egyptian returns a diamond to its owner and receives a ship laden with riches, from which he builds factories, a fleet under the Egyptian flag and fair wages. The volume also contains, according to Goodreads, two other short stories and a short novel about an activist in the struggle against the British.
Context
The volume appeared in 1956, in the Rose al-Youssef Golden Book series according to Goodreads, with an introduction by Taha Hussein, who praised the author's sensibility while reproaching him for his use of spoken Arabic, according to Encyclopedia.com. The title story, which the author also wrote as a play, is set between 1945 and 1952; critics read in it the hope of an Egypt master of its own ships and factories, as much as distrust of authority. Denys Johnson-Davies translated it into English in 1967.
Who it is for
Four stories of unequal length, in which the dialogue shifts into Cairo dialect; only the title story exists in English.
Prizes and reception
The author's second collection, introduced to the public by the man who was known as the dean of Arabic letters.
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