Distant View of a Minaret, and other stories.

Rifaat, Alifa

ISBN 10: 0704324016 / ISBN 13: 9780704324015

Published by London, Quartet., 1983

About this Item

First Edition, First Printing in U.K. -- Translated from Arabic by Denys Johnson-Davies. -- Hardcover, 116 pages. Condition: very good (owner name; label shadow) with very good dust jacket. -- Author (1930-1996) wrote of Egyptian women, her stories are described as melancholy and frank; she seldom travelled abroad which lent "immunity from Western influence" in her writing. ISBN 0704324016.

Seller Inventory # 00024138

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Distant View of a Minaret, and other stories.
• Publisher: London, Quartet.
• Publication Date: 1983
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0704324016
• ISBN 13: 9780704324015
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
• Seller catalogs:
  • Africa

About this title

Synopsis

London 1983 first edition. Quartet. Hardcover small octavo. Fine in Near Fine , lightly rubbed, dj.

About the Author

Alifa Rifaat has spent all her life in the Arab world, immersed in the traditions and culture of Islam. She was brought up in Egypt, a devout Muslim, strictly adhering to the Islamic way of life and well versed in the Qu'ran and religious teachings. Her education and a possible future career in art were curtailed when she married - her parents' alternative to university. A widow, she now lives in Cairo with her three children. Largely divorced from Western influences, speaking and writing only Arabic, Alifa Rifaat allows the reader a rare and enlightening glimpse at woman's condition in a male-dominated environment.Her originality lies not in any overt and conventional feminist approach, but rather through her implicit criticisms of the male neglect of his Islamic obligations to women, particularly in family life and marital relationships. She challenges behaviour from within the accepted framework of her society's religion and laws. Distant View of a Minaret was first published in English in 1983, by Quartet Books. Two of the stories have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3.