Naguib Mahfouz, the 92 year-old Egyptian novelist and short-story writer and winner of the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature, has been admitted into ICU (Intensive Care Unit) after experiencing a severe case of pneumonia. Dr. Mohammad Said and Ahmad Jad, who are supervising his condition, said that Najuib’s e is experiencing a very high fever and his condition is not very promising primarily due to his old age reported the Egyptian daily Al Ahram.
The wife of the great writer, Atia Allah, said that her husband had been experiencing difficulties in breathing and his memory began to worsen as his fever increased. She added that her husband will remain hospitalized for a few days until his condition improves and doctors say it is alright to send him home.
Mahfouz was sent to Al Shurta Hospital in Ajouza-Egypt which is located right next to his home. His daughters and other family members along with his wife accompanied him to hospital. A number of other prominent writers have made it a point to remain by the side of the novelist until they are sure his condition has improved.
Naguib is the best known and most widely respected contemporary writer in Egypt and probably the whole Arab world. In 1988 he became the first Arabic writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Mahfouz's novels are characterized by realistic depictions of social and political life and include fictional explorations of such social issues as the position of women and political prisoners. Much of his reputation is based on his 1956-57 “Cairo Trilogy,” Bayn al-Qasrayn,Qasr ash-Shawq, and As-Sukkariyya (tr. as Palace Walk, 1989, Palace of Desire, 1991, and Sugar Street, 1992)a sweeping series of novels that traces the history of a middle-class Egyptian Muslim family between 1917 and 1952. –Albawaba.com
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