Kashtamer

Author: Naguib Mahfouz

In this novel, named after the "Kashtamer" café in Abbaseya, Naguib Mahfouz tells the story of the relationship between five friends from the neighborhood. Two are from Eastern Abbaseya, where the wealthy of the past lived in mansions, and two are from the more modest Western Abbaseya. The fifth is the narrator, who many believe represents Mahfouz himself. Their class affiliations, financial situations, and intellectual and political opinions differ, yet they are united by their friendship, which carries them through the waves of time. Through this enduring relationship, Mahfouz chronicles many of the transformations that Egyptian society witnessed during a period extending from World War I to the era of Sadat.