Tawfiq al-Hakim or Tawfik el-Hakim (Arabic: 鬲賵賮賷賯 丕賱丨賰賷賲鈥� Tawf墨q al-岣k墨m) was a prominent Egyptian writer. He is one of the pioneers of the Arabic novel and drama. He was the son of an Egyptian wealthy judge and a Turkish mother. The triumphs and failures that are represented by the reception of his enormous output of plays are emblematic of the issues that have confronted the Egyptian drama genre as it has endeavored to adapt its complex modes of communication to Egyptian society.
The Artistes lets us question whether a troupe of performers or their admirers are more skilled at getting what they want during the month of Ramadan. In The Radium of Happiness, the author learns that familiarity with the unknown removes its magic, thus canceling its artistic potential as a subject of interest. In the Tavern of Life, Love is the waiter, Satan a patron, and Death the barkeep. Love burns the author and Death鈥檚 chill frightens him, so he turns to Satan for help. Al-Hakim stands accountable to Prisca, a character from one of his stories, in Visiting the Angry Princess. She hates him for writing the death of her lover, and he imagines that if a mortal were to meet God, the encounter would be much the same. In By the Marble Basin, al-Hakim visits Shaharazad, another of his creations. She questions whether he created her husband or vice versa. They decide that no one is real. Ash鈥檃b, Banan, and Risha concoct A Devilish Scheme whereby they steal men鈥檚 clothes and money. The governor arrests and punishes them, more severely when Ash鈥檃b tries to talk his way out of the punishment. The Tree of Earthly Rule outlines a hypothetical situation wherein half a dozen people with connected fortunes forsake the cause of Eternal Egypt for their own interests. In My Donkey and Hypocrisy, a donkey accompanies his master to a beach resort where their discussion proves that, of their two species, humans are the true blind asses. When the groom learns that his new wife loves another man on their Wedding Night, he does all he can to divorce her and let her save face so she can have the man she wants. His kindness wins her heart, so they have a true wedding night rather than divorce. Shaykh Alish is Expelled from Paradise when he dies because he never faced temptation in his ascetic life. So he relives his life as a pimp, Alawi Bey, until pure love for a good woman changes him again into a new and devout man, Shaykh Aliwa. The question of whether he enters paradise this time around is left to the angels. The World鈥檚 a Stage examines some complexities of the theory of reincarnation. A couple in love demand to be reunited in their next life only to demand to be separated once they have played opposite one another again in different roles. Satan Triumphs over a holy man by changing the man鈥檚 motivation from that of fighting for God to fighting for his own interests. Destiny brings a man to his soul mate when she nearly kills him with her car. Al-Hakim speculates about Romeo鈥檚 future if he hadn鈥檛 died at the end of Shakespeare鈥檚 play in The Life of a Literary Character. Romeo finds a woman to love, but she never believes that he has forgotten Juliet, so she never gives him peace. In Show Me God, half an atom of God鈥檚 love overcomes a man when the man attempts to appease his only child鈥檚 desire to see God. The Letter Carrier is supposed to deliver luck. The author meets him on a beach one day and is too taken by the inequality of luck鈥檚 distribution to take any for himself. After a young woman repeatedly saves the life a young man bent on suicide, she asks him if he doesn鈥檛 wish to embrace death. When he agrees, she says, 鈥淚鈥檓 Death!鈥� In Confederation of Sparrows, a father sparrow demonstrates to his son that sparrows should be happy because they do not share man鈥檚 greatest weakness: greed. In the Year One Million, death itself is extinct and unknown. A religious movement in favor of experiencing death sweeps the world because people are happy to experience the ups and downs of life that accompany it. I am impressed by al-Hakim鈥檚 ability to fit consistently so much meaning into short stories shorter than any other Arabic author I read could produce. His stories read more like fables or campfire tales than like polished literature, yet I find the style refreshing after the contemplative brooding of writers like Mahfouz and Idris. Al-Hakim gives his characters wit and teaches a lesson in each story rather than trying solely to evoke moods or feelings in the reader. Throughout most of the time I spent reading his stories I forgot he was an Arabic author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.