Radobis - Naguib Mahfouz

The latest novel by Naguib Mahfouz in the historical phase was characterized by political dimensions that shed light on the contemporary Egyptian reality as it addressed the relationship between the Pharaoh and religious and temporal authority and its interactions with popular rebellion in the context of his illegal romantic relationship with Radobis. From the beginning, Mahfouz talks about the Egyptian street in the novel as if it is the modern Egyptian street, even the dialogues of the notables about political matters in Radobis resemble political discussions in the trilogy, for example. The reader cannot erase the 1940s from his mind while reading Radobis, as Radobis salon resembles in part the salons of the forties, and the phrase of the Prime Minister, and the ongoing disagreement of the beloved Prime Minister with the King, all these are clear indications and projections of Mahfouz's era.