God Dies by the Nile: Second EditionZed Books, 2007 M07 15 - 175 pages Nawal El Saadawi is the 2007 recipient of the African Literature Association's Fonlon-Nichols Award! "People have become corrupt everywhere. You can search in vain for justice or true morality. They no longer exist." Kafr El Teen is a beautiful, sleepy village on the banks of the Nile. Yet at its heart it is tyrannical and corrupt. The Mayor, Sheikh Hamzawi of the mosque, and the Chief of the Village Guard are obsessed by wealth and use and abuse the women of the village, taking them as slaves, marrying them and beating them. Resistance, it seems, is futile. Zakeya, an ordinary villager, works in the fields by the Nile and watches the world, squatting in the dusty entrance to her house, quietly accepting her fate. It is only when her nieces fall prey to the Mayor that Zakeya becomes enraged by the injustice of her society and possessed by demons. Where is the loving and peaceful God in whom Zakeya believes? Nawal El Saadawi's classic attempt to square religion with a society in which women are respected as equals is as relevant today as ever. |
Contents
Section 1 | 1 |
Section 2 | 10 |
Section 3 | 23 |
Section 4 | 35 |
Section 5 | 48 |
Section 6 | 57 |
Section 7 | 64 |
Section 8 | 75 |
Section 13 | 111 |
Section 14 | 118 |
Section 15 | 127 |
Section 16 | 149 |
Section 17 | 158 |
Section 18 | 163 |
Section 19 | 167 |
Section 20 | 169 |
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Common terms and phrases
Allah answered arms asked Aunt become belly blood body breast breath buffalo carried Chief child closed continued covered dark deep devil door dropped ears Elwau eyes face father Fatheya feel feet felt field fingers followed front galabeya Galal girl ground Haj Ismail hand happened head hear heard held hold iron Kafr El Teen Kafrawi knew lane legs lifted light lips live longer looked lying Mayor mind moment mosque mother mouth moved neck Nefissa never night Nile once peasants prayer quickly reached remained river bank seemed seen Sheikh Hamzawi Sheikh Zahran side silent sitting slowly sound standing started stood suddenly tell thighs things tightly told tried trying turned Village Guard voice walked wall watched whispered wide woman women Zakeya Zeinab