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That Smell And Notes From Prison (1966)

by Sonallah Ibrahim(Favorite Author)

3.56 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0811220362 (ISBN13: 9780811220361)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

New Directions

review 1: Before reading the novel That Smell and diary/notes Notes from Prison, make sure you read Translator's Introduction and Ibrahim's Afterword/Forward then you can like or unlike this, once banned book in Egypt, novel. Though praised for its modernist style, that was first to appear to break classical realism in Arabic literature ( in Egypt), I didn't like because of its too plain narration and weak plot, and sentiments not enough to draw once's attention.
review 2: While I appreciate the importance of Ibrahim's novel in its historical context, it just wasn't something that I thought was exceptional. The style and content didn't grab me. I was glad that it was only 110 pages, over 4 parts, because if the novel or notes had been longer, I might have been a bit bore... mored. Stream of consciousness isn't my thing; there's not enough time for reflection or revelation, which are things I enjoy in the books I read. So while this isn't a book I'll be rereading, I'm glad I read it. I just read another book about this same era, so it was nice to get a very different perspective of a turbulent time in Egyptian history. less

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