Palace WalkPalace Walk
Score Classic
What it's about
The first volume of Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy introduces the saga of a Muslim family in Cairo during Egypt's occupation by British forces in the early 1900s.
Why it's worth reading
It's on the Guardian's list of 1,000 novels everyone must read. It opens one of the great family sagas of world literature.
You'll love it if you liked
Children of Gebelawi
Season of Migration to the North
BuddenbrooksGood to know
It's the first of three books. It's a translation from Arabic.
By the numbers
- Readers42 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics30 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller10 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving
More by Naguib Mahfouz
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Quick answers
Is Palace Walk worth reading?
Yes. It's on the Guardian's list of 1,000 novels everyone must read. It ranks #2,304 of the 3,057 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 62.2 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Palace Walk about?
The first volume of Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy introduces the saga of a Muslim family in Cairo during Egypt's occupation by British forces in the early 1900s.
How long does it take to read Palace Walk?
About 13 hours (508 pages), or about 4 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Palace Walk?
If you liked it, try Children of Gebelawi by Naguib Mahfouz, Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih or Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann.