Children of Gebelawi

E24057

Children of Gebelawi is a landmark allegorical novel by Egyptian Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz that reimagines religious and social history through the saga of a Cairo alley and its patriarchal founder.

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Predicate Object
instanceOf allegorical novel
novel
author Naguib Mahfouz
authorNationality Egyptian
awardedToAuthor Nobel Prize in Literature
surface form: Nobel Prize in Literature (Naguib Mahfouz)
countryOfOrigin Egypt
depicts life in a poor Cairo neighborhood
rise and fall of successive reformers
explores conflict between faith and reason
corruption of religious and social authority
oppression of the poor
genre allegorical fiction
social novel
hasAllegoricalDimension Abrahamic religious traditions
history of prophecy
modern science and revolution
hasCharacter Gebelawi
hasCulturalImpact became a touchstone in debates on freedom of expression in Arabic literature
sparked religious and political controversy in the Arab world
hasMoralDimension call for justice and dignity
critique of tyranny
hasPatriarchCharacter Gebelawi as godlike figure
hasProtagonistGroup descendants of Gebelawi
hasTitleVariant The Harafish
surface form: Awlad Haratina

Children of the Alley
influencedBy Abrahamic monotheistic traditions
Islamic cultural context
languageScript Arabic script
literarySignificance controversial religious allegory
landmark of modern Arabic literature
literaryStyle realism blended with allegory
mainTheme power and authority
relationship between religion and society
religious history
social injustice
movement modern Arabic novel
narrativeForm multi-generational saga
notableFor bold reimagining of religious narratives
use of a Cairo alley as a microcosm of human history
originalLanguage Arabic
portrays patriarchal founder of an alley
successive generations of descendants
setting Midaq Alley
surface form: Cairo alley
structure episodic
timePeriodOfComposition 20th century

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Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Naguib Mahfouz notableWork Children of Gebelawi