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A Nose and Three Eyes
Written by iconic Egyptian novelist Ihsan Abdel Kouddous, this classic of love, desire, and family breakdown smashed through taboos when first published in Arabic and continues to captivate audiences today
It is 1950s Cairo and 16-year-old Amina is engaged to a much older man. Despite all the excitement of the wedding preparations, Amina is not looking forward to her nuptials. And it is not because of the age gap or because she does not love, or even really know, her fiancé. No, it is because she is involved with another man. This other man is Dr Hashim Abdel-Latif, and while he is Amina’s first love, she is certainly not his. Also many years her senior, Hashim is well-known in polite circles for his adventures with women. A Nose and Three Eyes tells the story of Amina’s love affair with Hashim, and that of two other young Nagwa and Rahhab. A Nose and Three Eyes is a story of female desire and sexual awakening, of love and infatuation, and of exploitation and despair. It quietly critiques the strictures put upon women by conservative social norms and expectations, while a subtle undercurrent of political censure was carefully aimed at the then-Nasser regime. As such, it was both deeply controversial and wildly popular when first published in the 1960s. Still a household name, this novel, and its author have stood the test of time and remain relevant and highly readable today.
It is 1950s Cairo and 16-year-old Amina is engaged to a much older man. Despite all the excitement of the wedding preparations, Amina is not looking forward to her nuptials. And it is not because of the age gap or because she does not love, or even really know, her fiancé. No, it is because she is involved with another man. This other man is Dr Hashim Abdel-Latif, and while he is Amina’s first love, she is certainly not his. Also many years her senior, Hashim is well-known in polite circles for his adventures with women. A Nose and Three Eyes tells the story of Amina’s love affair with Hashim, and that of two other young Nagwa and Rahhab. A Nose and Three Eyes is a story of female desire and sexual awakening, of love and infatuation, and of exploitation and despair. It quietly critiques the strictures put upon women by conservative social norms and expectations, while a subtle undercurrent of political censure was carefully aimed at the then-Nasser regime. As such, it was both deeply controversial and wildly popular when first published in the 1960s. Still a household name, this novel, and its author have stood the test of time and remain relevant and highly readable today.
534 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 4, 2024
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122 people want to read
About the author
Ihsan Abdel Kouddous
4 books14 followersIhsan Abdel Kouddous (Quddous) was born in Cairo in 1919. His mother was the Turkish-Lebanese journalist Rose al Yusuf. Kouddous studied law but gained fame as a novelist, journalist, and editor, beginning in 1944 to write film scripts, short stories, and novels. He became a distinguished journalist in the Al Akhbar newspaper, where he worked for eight years. He then worked in the Al-Ahram newspaper and became its editor-in-chief. He often criticized important personalities, which got him imprisoned three times throughout his journalism career.
Ihsan regarded women as symbols of sacrifice in the Egyptian society which was why women were the central theme of his literary works. His works influentially contributed to bring change in the conventional concepts in Egypt. Contrary to his literary works, he was a very conservative person and a strict husband and father in his own house.
He wrote more than 60 novels and collections of short stories. Of his novels, five were dramatized, nine were used as radio series scripts, ten had television miniseries adaptations, and 49 had film adaptations. His works have been translated to several foreign languages including English, French, German, Ukrainian, and Chinese.
Ihsan regarded women as symbols of sacrifice in the Egyptian society which was why women were the central theme of his literary works. His works influentially contributed to bring change in the conventional concepts in Egypt. Contrary to his literary works, he was a very conservative person and a strict husband and father in his own house.
He wrote more than 60 novels and collections of short stories. Of his novels, five were dramatized, nine were used as radio series scripts, ten had television miniseries adaptations, and 49 had film adaptations. His works have been translated to several foreign languages including English, French, German, Ukrainian, and Chinese.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 10, 2024
Ihsan AbdelKouddous…the ✨creep✨you are
March 8, 2025
Three teenage girls fall in love with the same 40ish Dr. The book has a section for each girl, and it's all written by a man. And yep, pretty problematic, I'm assuming even in 60s Cairo when it was written. The girls and their mothers scream a lot. a couple seemed to like to be smacked and then enjoy some violentish sex.
This book was recommended on the Brittlepaper web sites for books written by African authors. Apparently, it's a classic that was recently translated.
This book was recommended on the Brittlepaper web sites for books written by African authors. Apparently, it's a classic that was recently translated.
August 25, 2025
It’s the first time I feel like it is such a difficult task to write a review. I just feel so confused by this book. I’m not even sure it’s fair to rate it… I’ll need time to collect all my thoughts on it and write about it. But let this be my “review” for now.
November 13, 2025
definitely a fun read and it reminded me of valley of the dolls somewhat (one of my fav books not critically but personally). i really liked the writing style and the pacing. i hated amina’s crazy ass but i loved nagwa and rihab, dr hashim is a little BITCH.
it was really weird to me how all 3 of these young girls fell in love with the same old ass man and the fact theres lots of parts where they were arranged into marriages or romantically involved with older men that shit grossed me out
it was really weird to me how all 3 of these young girls fell in love with the same old ass man and the fact theres lots of parts where they were arranged into marriages or romantically involved with older men that shit grossed me out
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews