You Can Tell Whether Someone Is Wise

Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006) was an Egyptian writer known for being one of the first contemporary writers in Arabic literature to explore themes of existentialism. He won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature and is still the only Egyptian to win this award.

In his lifetime, he published 35 novels, over 350 short stories, 26 movie scripts, hundreds of op-ed columns for Egyptian newspapers, and seven plays. All of his novels take place in Egypt, and they became the first novels to gain widespread acceptance in the Arabic-speaking world.

His most famous works include The Trilogy and Children of Gebelawi, and many of his works have been adapted for cinema and television internationally.  In 1996 the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature was established to honour Arabic writers.

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