Ease Reading-Find Your Next Favorite Book

Hot Search

Voices from the Other World: Ancient Egyptian Tales

naguib mahfouz raymond stock

... Show More
The forces of law and order disturb a district's too-perfect peace at the dawn of Egyptian civilization. A wise and popular pharaoh is betrayed by his own son, and by his dearest friends - then makes a most peculiar decision. A mummy returns to life after three thousand years, to confront the arrogant new race that now rules the land. A favored prince flees to a faraway country when the king dies suddenly, leaving his true love behind - only to come back to question her about their forty lost years. A famous young writer, composer of a legendary epic of Pharaoh's greatest battle with the Hittites, is carried off without warning by a mysterious disease - then speaks to us in this life from beyond the veil of death.
Such are the tales that make up this volume of five masterly stories by the young Naguib Mahfouz, all inspired by the Egypt of the pharaohs. Like three novels set in ancient times that he also published early in his career, these stories reveal his wide reading of Egypt's (and the world's) oldest history and literature. All of these gems, however, are very much his own creations. Their voices speak with the familiar genius of Egypt's greatest modern writer - though they call from a very different world than the one for which he is best known.

96 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1,2002

This edition

Format
96 pages, Hardcover
Published
January 1, 2004 by Amer Univ in Cairo Pr
ISBN
9789774247583
ASIN
9774247582
Language
English

More editions

About the author

Profile Image for naguib mahfouz

naguib mahfouz

... Show More
Naguib Mahfouz (Arabic author profile: نجيب محفوظ) was an Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature. He published over 50 novels, over 350 short stories, dozens of movie scripts, and five plays over a 70-year career. Many of his works have been made into Egyptian and foreign films.

Readers also enjoyed

Community Reviews

Rating(4.2 / 5.0, 53 votes)
5 stars
21(40%)
4 stars
23(43%)
3 stars
9(17%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
0(0%)
53 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
wurlygurl17
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
Kültürün perspektif üzerine kurtulunamayan etkisini anladığım bir kitap oldu, son hikaye sona yakışır bir biçimdeydi. her şey yerli yerinde, orijinaldi ve toplum eleştirisi çok yerindeydi. üst bir kalem gerçekten. hemen o gücü ve hüznü hissettiriyor.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
renardTrickster
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
"O Lord, no matter how the soul suffers and is tortured, it goes on inventing and creating just the same."

These 5 short stories rooted in ancient Egyptian culture by Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz are a lovely treat. I can hardly believe it's been nearly 2 decades since I first read his most famous Cairo trilogy (as a curious high schooler), and a decade since 'The Travels of Ibn Fattouma' in college.

These early short stories were overshadowed by the success of his Cairo trilogy saga set amidst the British occupation, of which I unfortunately mostly recall the hypocrite, terrorizing father and the servile women. Unsurprisingly, these wonderfully translated tales offer a different flavor, with my favorite being 'The Mummy Awakes' with its clash-of-civilizations undertones, followed closely by 'A Voice from the Other World' with its fitting afterlife angle.

This was a welcomed reminder that he remains an author whose writing and insights I'm bound to enjoy, at least in part thanks to his appreciation for ancient Egyptian history (also reflected in his first three Pharaonic novels). In 1988, he became the first Egyptian and the first writer with Arabic as his native tongue to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
Yardhouse12
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
Mmmm... A colection of short stories from Egypt, ancient and modern. Some with a moral message that is still valid today and then a wee bit of classic Mummy horror in one. Entertaining stuff from on of Egypts most prolific 20th century authors - I'll be looking for more
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
bonngg
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
De los cinco cuentos que hay, "El mal adorado", "el perdón del rey Userkaf" son buenos; "El regreso de Sinué" está aceptable.
"La momia se despierta", es el peor para mí, parece un relleno en el libro.
El último "una voz de otro mundo" que da título al libro, es una narración increíble y preocupante. Narración muy buena y descriptiva; y preocupante porque de ser verdad, es angustiosa.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
r3vboss
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
Beautifully written tales, one inventive, one surprising, and the rest predictable.

The author won a Nobel Prize for Literature.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
onesnowyday_
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
Antik Mısır kültürünü odağına alarak, genel itibariyle insanlığın kaybettiği erdemlerine ve zaaflarına mercek tutan, yer yer kıssadan hisse tadında 5 adet hikayeden oluşan bir kitap.
En cok sevdiğim hikaye “Öteki Dünyadan Bir Ses” isimli son metin ve oradaki ölüm tasviri oldu.
Anlatımı yalın ve bir oturuşta okumalık…
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
Hazbyn
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
"He also spoke with the servants and the slaves, leaving n his wake a deep and powerful influence
that stirred defiant revolt in their souls, around which disputation and mutual hostility grew ever stronger".

Voices from the Other World: Ancient Egyptian Tales by Naguib Mahfouz



This is a collection of short stories on Ancient Egypt.

Given that I love reading about Ancient Egypt, I thought this might be a good pick and it was.

It is four short stories with all of them dealing with pretty heavy subjects, death being just one. I enjoyed all the stories. I knew very little about this author..next to nothing frankly..before I read them. But he appears to be very much loved so I will have to read more by him.


I can't say which story I enjoyed most. I quite liked all of them and all made an impression on me. And they all take place in Egypt.They absolutely did not want for atmosphere.

Any fan of Ancient Egypt should add this to their collection. It is a short book and each of the stories are relatively short so this can be read in one sitting. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole book.
0 0 Reply
Leave a Review
You must be logged in to rate and post a review. Register an account to get started.