Tales of Encounter: Three Novellas

by Yusuf Idris, Rasheed El-Enany (Translator)

Yusuf Idris was undoubtedly one of Egypt's most talented and versatile writers in the second half of the twentieth century. The first two novellas in this volume, Madam Vienna and The Secret of His Power, come from the peak period in his career, the late 1950s and early 1960s, while New York80 belongs to his late period, the 1980s. Yet something holds these three works together, despite their different periods and their scattered settings: Vienna, an Egyptian Delta village, and New York. They all deal with a seminal theme in Arabic fiction since its nascent years and until today: the East-West encounter, often treated allegorically by Arab writers through a love story between an Arab man and a Western woman who stand for their respective cultures. In these three novellas, Idris harnesses his remarkable narrative skills to tell us some of the most memorable stories of the encounter in Arabic fiction.

176 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2012

About the author

Yusuf Idris (also Yusif Idris; Arabic: يوسف إدريس) was an Egyptian writer of plays, short stories, and novels.
He wrote realistic stories about ordinary and poor people. Many of his works are in the Egyptian vernacular, and he was considered a master of the short story. Idris originally trained to be a doctor, studying at the University of Cairo. He sought to put the foundations of a modern Egyptian theatre based on popular traditions and folklore, his main success in this quest was his most famous work, a play called "Al-Farafeer" depicting two main characters: the Master and the "Farfour" [=poor layman]. For some time he was a regular writer in the famous daily newspaper Al-Ahram. It is known that he was nominated several times to win the Nobel prize for literature.

From the English edition of The Cheapest Nights: "While a medical student his work against Farouk’s regime and the British led to his imprisonment and suspension from College. After graduation he worked at Kasr el Eini, the largest government hospital in Egypt. He supported Nasser’s rise to power but became disillusioned in 1954 at the time when his first collection of stories The Cheapest Nights was published . . Yusuf Idris’ stories are powerful and immediate reflections of the experiences of his own rebellious life. His continuing contact with the struggling poor enables him to portray characters sensitively and imaginatively."

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Madam Vienna: 2 stars, really didn't enjoy it, I feel like its essence might have gotten lost in translation.
New York 80: 4 stars, really enjoyed it, I liked the author's style in this one better.
The Secret of his power: 3 stars, although I found it a very interesting read, it dragged quite a bit, but the last letter really saved the whole story.

Overall I would recommend it since it is an interesting perspective on the world and how the east and west perceive each other.