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God Dies by the Nile and Other Novels
Collected for the first time in one complete volume, God Dies by the Nile and other Novels are three of El Saadawi’s most remarkable tales of tragedy, revenge, despair, and violence. Powerful and moving, El Saadawi masterfully captures the personal struggles of women in a society steeped in hypocrisy and reveals the daily revolt of women against the corrupt norms of the Arab world.
504 pages, Paperback
Published November 15, 2015
25 people are currently reading
637 people want to read
About the author
Nawal El Saadawi
117 books3,605 followersNawal El Saadawi (Arabic: نوال السعداوي) was born in 1931, in a small village outside Cairo. Unusually, she and her brothers and sisters were educated together, and she graduated from the University of Cairo Medical School in 1955, specializing in psychiatry. For two years, she practiced as a medical doctor, both at the university and in her native Tahla.
From 1963 until 1972, Saadawi worked as Director General for Public Health Education for the Egyptian government. During this time, she also studied at Columbia University in New York, where she received her Master of Public Health degree in 1966. Her first novel Memoirs of a Woman Doctor was published in Cairo in 1958. In 1972, however, she lost her job in the Egyptian government as a result of political pressure. The magazine, Health, which she had founded and edited for more than three years, was closed down.
From 1973 to 1978 Saadawi worked at the High Institute of Literature and Science. It was at this time that she began to write, in works of fiction and non-fiction, the books on the oppression of Arab women for which she has become famous. Her most famous novel, Woman at Point Zero was published in Beirut in 1973. It was followed in 1976 by God Dies by the Nile and in 1977 by The Hidden Face of Eve: Women in the Arab World.
In 1981 Nawal El Saadawi publicly criticized the one-party rule of President Anwar Sadat, and was subsequently arrested and imprisoned. She was released one month after his assassination. In 1982, she established the Arab Women's Solidarity Association, which was outlawed in 1991. When, in 1988, her name appeared on a fundamentalist death list, she and her second husband, Sherif Hetata, fled to the USA, where she taught at Duke University and Washington State University. She returned to Egypt in 1996.
In 2004 she presented herself as a candidate for the presidential elections in Egypt, with a platform of human rights, democracy and greater freedom for women. In July 2005, however, she was forced to withdraw her candidacy in the face of ongoing government persecution.
Nawal El Saadawi has achieved widespread international recognition for her work. She holds honorary doctorates from the universities of York, Illinois at Chicago, St Andrews and Tromso. Her many prizes and awards include the Great Minds of the Twentieth Century Prize, awarded by the American Biographical Institute in 2003, the North-South Prize from the Council of Europe and the Premi Internacional Catalunya in 2004. Her books have been translated into over 28 languages worldwide. They are taught in universities across the world.
She now works as a writer, psychiatrist and activist. Her most recent novel, entitled Al Riwaya was published in Cairo in 2004.
From 1963 until 1972, Saadawi worked as Director General for Public Health Education for the Egyptian government. During this time, she also studied at Columbia University in New York, where she received her Master of Public Health degree in 1966. Her first novel Memoirs of a Woman Doctor was published in Cairo in 1958. In 1972, however, she lost her job in the Egyptian government as a result of political pressure. The magazine, Health, which she had founded and edited for more than three years, was closed down.
From 1973 to 1978 Saadawi worked at the High Institute of Literature and Science. It was at this time that she began to write, in works of fiction and non-fiction, the books on the oppression of Arab women for which she has become famous. Her most famous novel, Woman at Point Zero was published in Beirut in 1973. It was followed in 1976 by God Dies by the Nile and in 1977 by The Hidden Face of Eve: Women in the Arab World.
In 1981 Nawal El Saadawi publicly criticized the one-party rule of President Anwar Sadat, and was subsequently arrested and imprisoned. She was released one month after his assassination. In 1982, she established the Arab Women's Solidarity Association, which was outlawed in 1991. When, in 1988, her name appeared on a fundamentalist death list, she and her second husband, Sherif Hetata, fled to the USA, where she taught at Duke University and Washington State University. She returned to Egypt in 1996.
In 2004 she presented herself as a candidate for the presidential elections in Egypt, with a platform of human rights, democracy and greater freedom for women. In July 2005, however, she was forced to withdraw her candidacy in the face of ongoing government persecution.
Nawal El Saadawi has achieved widespread international recognition for her work. She holds honorary doctorates from the universities of York, Illinois at Chicago, St Andrews and Tromso. Her many prizes and awards include the Great Minds of the Twentieth Century Prize, awarded by the American Biographical Institute in 2003, the North-South Prize from the Council of Europe and the Premi Internacional Catalunya in 2004. Her books have been translated into over 28 languages worldwide. They are taught in universities across the world.
She now works as a writer, psychiatrist and activist. Her most recent novel, entitled Al Riwaya was published in Cairo in 2004.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 19, 2015
This book contained three novels by Nawal El Saadawi – “God Dies by the Nile”, “Searching”, and “The Circling Song”. The writing in each is riveting with moments of beauty, moments too horrifying to imagine, disturbing dreams, and lives of despair. She struggles with the incongruity of religion and its treatment of women. She gets inside the minds of Arab women who struggle for meaning in their lives and fight oppression daily.
Her books were banned in Egypt; she was imprisoned for speaking out against the government; and she later ran for office but had to withdraw under pressure.
The vivid, sensitive descriptions place you in their world – the sights, the sounds, the smells, the tastes. You feel the frustration when the characters are dealing with the corrupt government officials. The stories demonstrate how corruption and misuse of religion are able to oppress the poor. These are not pleasant stories but many women live these lives.
Her books were banned in Egypt; she was imprisoned for speaking out against the government; and she later ran for office but had to withdraw under pressure.
The vivid, sensitive descriptions place you in their world – the sights, the sounds, the smells, the tastes. You feel the frustration when the characters are dealing with the corrupt government officials. The stories demonstrate how corruption and misuse of religion are able to oppress the poor. These are not pleasant stories but many women live these lives.
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October 26, 2015I won this book via First Reads Giveaways.I received a paperback copy.
July 23, 2019
God Dies by the Nile: 4 stars
The Circling Song: 3 stars
Searching: 3 stars
The Circling Song: 3 stars
Searching: 3 stars
June 5, 2021
God Dies by the Nile: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Circling Song: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Searching: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Circling Song: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Searching: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
January 12, 2023
Definitely reading this one again.
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November 11, 2016"God Dies by the Nile (1974; Eng. 1985) is set in a small village on the banks of the Nile and explores the corruption of government officials who victimize the inhabitants of the small village. By turns, women are most easily marked as the target of such corruption and suffer immensely. That women suffer in her works is a given, but an examination of the nature of the suffering is what is placed in the foreground." - Adele Newson-Horst
This book was reviewed in the November/December 2016 issue of World Literature Today magazine. Read the full review by visiting our website:
http://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2...
This book was reviewed in the November/December 2016 issue of World Literature Today magazine. Read the full review by visiting our website:
http://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2...
December 28, 2016
Three short novels which cover various aspects of women's lives and women's rights in a country increasingly consumerist, and fundamentalist. In the first story God Dies by the Nile, the girls in the story are preyed upon, and violated by men in power, who also hold religious power. The second story Searching - mixes reality and feelings/dreams - of a woman who is seeking to be an independent chemist, however social roles circumscribes her ability to realise her self. In the last, and most troubling, The Circling Song, gender, class, and military intersect to create layers of violence, oppression and suppression.
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February 21, 2018I DIDN'T READ THE ENTIRE BOOK (3 NOVELS). I JUST READ GOD DIES BY THE NILE AND WILL THEREFORE NOT GIVE THIS BOOK AN OVERALL STAR RATING.
GDbtN: 4/5 stars. The only thing I didn't like was that I was confused the entire time on the characters, but other than that, it was very moving and well written! And I shall be reading the other novels in this at some point.
GDbtN: 4/5 stars. The only thing I didn't like was that I was confused the entire time on the characters, but other than that, it was very moving and well written! And I shall be reading the other novels in this at some point.
December 30, 2015
God Dies By The Nile and Other Novels by
Nawal El-Saadawi
The stories in this book are very powerful. An insight to things very hard to imagine.
Best to read each one of these separately.
I received this book through GOODREADS First Reads Giveaway
Nawal El-Saadawi
The stories in this book are very powerful. An insight to things very hard to imagine.
Best to read each one of these separately.
I received this book through GOODREADS First Reads Giveaway
October 27, 2015
Read each of these separately...she is an amazing woman and tells the most powerful stories.
I love her and consider her one of the my great heroes.
I love her and consider her one of the my great heroes.
June 11, 2016
Her technique of intrusive narrator is genius however I think it would be served better with lighter subject matter and tighter structure.
June 13, 2023
4.5!! I loved this author’s writing style - Nawal el Saadawi was an egyptian doctor/psychiatrist turned author/activist and her writing is like honey. These novels/stories were about class and gender and violence in a way that I’ve never read before - god dies by the Nile (the first novel) was an absolute 5/5 I read it twice and definitely will read again. The other two stories were certainly beautiful as well, but I found searching to move me less and circling song to be hard to follow (which I think was the point and is also worth a reread).
Beautiful and haunting stories that are really explicit and brutal but also stunning - I liked this compilation too because of the context given about the author / the inclusion of commentary for each of the stories as a foreword. Will definitely be reading more by her!
Beautiful and haunting stories that are really explicit and brutal but also stunning - I liked this compilation too because of the context given about the author / the inclusion of commentary for each of the stories as a foreword. Will definitely be reading more by her!
January 1, 2025
God Dies By The Nile ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I had to stop reading it at one point as it was so uncomfortable to read and I had no urge to read this type of book. However I picked it back up, realized how horrible the world is and continued reading. The ending, I had to put my arms up and celebrated, the realization and the sudden action really made it a five star read. Very strange for a book I almost dnf
Searching ??
Forgot what happened and did not write a review for this, I don't remember it being as good as God Dies By The Nile
Synopsis for me to try and remember:
Fouada meets Farid, her lover, every Tuesday in a restaurant overlooking the Nile. But this week their usual table is deserted. She calls his home, but the shrilling of the telephone echoes in an empty room. Farid has disappeared. As she searches for him, Fouada becomes tormented by questions
The Circling Song ⭐
It was too lyrical for me. I did not understand what was happening and read it at a strange time, it was after I read A Little Life and during the Christmas period - so I don't think I was in a mood for such read.
I had to stop reading it at one point as it was so uncomfortable to read and I had no urge to read this type of book. However I picked it back up, realized how horrible the world is and continued reading. The ending, I had to put my arms up and celebrated, the realization and the sudden action really made it a five star read. Very strange for a book I almost dnf
Searching ??
Forgot what happened and did not write a review for this, I don't remember it being as good as God Dies By The Nile
Synopsis for me to try and remember:
Fouada meets Farid, her lover, every Tuesday in a restaurant overlooking the Nile. But this week their usual table is deserted. She calls his home, but the shrilling of the telephone echoes in an empty room. Farid has disappeared. As she searches for him, Fouada becomes tormented by questions
The Circling Song ⭐
It was too lyrical for me. I did not understand what was happening and read it at a strange time, it was after I read A Little Life and during the Christmas period - so I don't think I was in a mood for such read.
November 13, 2024
这本小说应该是我阅读的第一本埃及小说，很喜欢。希望萨达威的作品能多多出中文版。
January 28, 2025
Nawal has my heart firmly in her grasp, and won’t let go.
September 26, 2019
Wow. The author is brave and brilliant in trying to do what she can to draw attention to injustice to women and people living in poverty in a patriarchal society that bases misogyny in religious fundamentalism. It is politics, not religion, that creates such horrible conditions for girls and women in Egypt. Yet, the few corrupted men in charge stand behind religion as their guiding principles. The first novella in this collection is most direct. Many innocent people were murdered because of the greed of one corrupt leader. I thought the second novella was the weakest of the three. The author perfectly depicted the never-ending state of “searching” dragging the protagonist through her days. It was done well but it didn’t make for an interesting read. Her days were tedious as her aspirations were controlled by men, but the story was tedious as well. The final of the novellas is heartbreaking, horrifying, and infuriating. So much pain was inflicted on the girl and her life was never her own to live.
November 29, 2018
There are 500-page books that you read in a few days. And there are some...that need more time to digest. But in the end, the experience stays with you much much longer. This is a collection of three short novellas. Don´t expect brisk pace of events. This book is no page-turner. The writing is detail-oriented, but has an ability to draw the reader deeper in the story. It is easier to feel the atmosphere protagonists are in. It is a tough book. Tough to read and tough to think the story. It is realistic and cruel, as life can be. El-Saadawi shows this in her stories through social and cultural injustice due to the patriarchal hierarchy that creates unnatural regulations for men and women. Her stories are situated in Middle East, but parallels are easy to imagine for the rest of the World. The novellas might not be the easiest to swallow, but this book shows the World without rose-tinted glasses.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews