Egyptian Writer Naguib Mahfouz was the winner of the Nobel Prize for literature in 1988. Wedding Song is the first book I have read by him, but I will be back for more.
Wedding Song tells the same story 4 times, from the point of view of the 4 main characters. Each voice adds more detail and more insight into the events being talked about, and more than that, each voice offers a different philosophical viewpoint on life.
But Wedding Song is not some heavy tome, it is entertaining and though it certainly deals with death, has so much life to it. Each character is so distinct, and as the layers are added to the story, you really feel like you know them. And for a small book, this is no small task. I felt like I could see the building they described, and smell the air around the theater.
There is also inherent to the book, a discussion about the meaning of literature...whether it is mere entertainment, and is it, and should it be, something more...something real that makes people feel and act.
That is a lot to pack in a slim volume, but every page was enjoyable. As I said, I will be buying more of Mahfouz's works.
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