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.

"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.

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

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.

Beautifully written tales, one inventive, one surprising, and the rest predictable.

The author won a Nobel Prize for Literature.

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…

A wonderful story by Naguib Mahfouz

"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.

A collection of good but not great short stories about ancient Egypt. Mahfouz is a brilliant writer, but none of these stories stood out, given my high expectations. A quick, fun read at only 112 pages. Each story is effectively a myth or fairy tale. They would all work as young adult stories. “Evil Adored” tells of a saintly prophet and the threat of his goodness to the Egyptian elite. “King Userkaf’s Forgiveness” is a story about true loyalty. “The Mummy Awakens” is like a bad hollywood script and imho the weakest story here. “The Return of Sinuhe” is based on an important ancient Egyptian story but reimagined as a romance. “ A Voice from another world” is about the experience of an Egyptian soul between death and final burial. This last story I also found below standard for Mahfouz. I’d read these stories as part of a larger collection, but was a bit disappointed with this book, given the author.

I wanted to start reading this important writer with an early collection.

I wondered how good he was as young writer, what he did with ancient Egyptian history. Of the 5 short stories only the conventional supernatural story "The Mummy Awakens" was somewhat weak. The other stories like "Evil Adored" was very smart, social critique and strong retelling of how life was then.

Very quick read (2h - 3h at most). Nice stories, varied and interesting.

Really excellent, thought-provoking stories.