Diary of a deputy in the countryside

Author's name: Tawfiq Al-Hakim Publisher: Al-Shorouk Publishing and Distribution Year of publication: 2004 Literary classification: Novel Brief about the book: One of the most famous novels of modern Arabic literature that exposed the reality of the countryside and the lives of farmers in Egypt, in the first half of the twentieth century, and what they are subjected to of injustice and neglect amid ignorance, poverty, and disease. Shortly after its publication, "Diaries of a Deputy in the Countryside" was translated into English and French, and French critic Raymond Fernandez wrote about it: "It is a vivid, sometimes harshly satirical picture of Egyptian rural life, and this life moves within the pages of this book with an astonishing vitality that sometimes makes the reader forget the reformist intentions that motivated Tawfiq Al-Hakim. But what sticks in the reader's memory is the strength of narration, creativity, honesty, keen observation, and the ability to grasp the story. However, Tawfiq Al-Hakim writes to protest, criticize, and accuse." The narrator in "Deputy in the Countryside" is a stranger to the village where he is assigned to work. Life circumstances have forced him to be present in the countryside, and his diaries through which he presents the events are almost connected to the events and life of the author himself, which he could not transcend.