Reading 1001 discussion

10. Do you think the book belongs on the list? Why or why not?

Yes, I believe it belongs on the list. The writing is exceptionally good and its structure is unusual.

I'm glad it is on the list so that I found it! I know so little about that part of the world, and this book is a very good read about a subject I would like to know more about.

I agree it does belong on the list. I enjoyed it very much.

I enjoyed the book and am glad it is on the list.

I enjoyed it, and, like many of the books on the list, wouldn't have known of it otherwise.

First, let me say that I did enjoy this book. However, it did not make the original list. It was added in 2008 after the book was criticized for not including enough world literature, which makes me wonder is it better than what it replaced. I have not read the entire lists (I used plural intentionally) of books. I feel like this is more than just an Egyptian novel. It structurally has a lot of things going for it so I would think it does deserve to be on the list. However, I always wonder about the books that were added in to the later lists :)

Yes I do. I think the author (Nobel Prize winner) wrote a novel, which is not a normal format for Middle Eastern story tellers and he wrote with the influence of Middle Eastern storytelling, he wrote of what he knew (Egypt) and therefore I think this book does belong on the list.

The complaint was that too many English and American books were on the list and some of those authors were over represented. They went for a more international or world literature representation. Yes, some countries have bad works to pick from but the question is, did they deserve to be represented?

In the case of this author, I think the fact that he has taken and put the Arab style of story telling into a novel and he is a Nobel Prize Winner, some other people thought he was great besides the arbitrary editors of 1001 Books....

I agree with Tracy, I am glad it's on the list and probably wouldn't have know about it otherwise. It deserves to be on the list becaue of the way it tells of the British influence on a poor street in Egypt.

As far as the complaint about too many English and American books, I think adding worthy international or world literature was a great idea. The key is to make sure the books are truly worthy and not just something from that country; but Midaq Alley truly makes the grade. I purchased my copy used, and it had notations in the border like it had been used for a high school advanced literature class.

Nope, noe doubts about this one. I found it well written and I loved how it was at once universal and Egyptian.

When it comes to doubts about the list in General, I think I'd rather doubt the "original" list than later ones. Isn't this exactly the type of thing that gets improved over time? There are enough lists of the "classics" that consist only of dead white males from Europe and the US. Of course I'm against adding books ONLY because the author is female or from another country/culture. But with 1001 books (which is, for lots of people, more than they read in a lifetime) you should be able to provide some variety.

Even though I did not enjoy it as much as I expected, I still believe that it has its place on the list, mainly because of the themes explored in a place like Egypt.