The road

And the woman turned to him with a hint of amazement, and Uncle Muhammad stood to describe the way to reach; so the woman was forced to wait. And he pretended to listen to Uncle Muhammad's words without understanding a single word. Whenever he found a safe opportunity, he would glance at the woman, who would accept it with a calm, inspiring satisfaction that fueled ambition without any evidence. After the death of his mother, who was a prostitute, "Saber" paves his way to Cairo in search of his father "Sayed Al-Rihimi"; the wealthy man who would save him from loss and lift him from bankruptcy. In Cairo, he meets "Ilham," a model of pure love and human nobility, and "Kareema," a model of betrayal, sensual pleasure, and physical enjoyment. But he fails to reach his father, and ends up killing Kareema's husband out of greed for her and her money, then killing Kareema herself; so his fate becomes hanging. A novel that at first glance appears to embody greed and seduction, but — as is usual with Naguib Mahfouz in loading his characters with many symbols — it is not devoid of symbolism. Saber’s path in searching for his father is a path of seeking peace and reassurance, which he could have achieved through many ways, but because he is a defeatist and dependent character, he fails in his mission and his journey ends in ruin.