The Pub of the Black Cat
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| Author | Naguib Mahfouz |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | |
| Country | Cairo, Egypt |
| Language | Arabic |
| Genre | Short stories |
| Published | 1969 |
| Publisher | Dar El-Shorouk Publishing |
| Pages | 232 |
The Pub of the Black Cat (Khammarit Al-Qiṭ Al-Aswad) is a 1969 short story collection by Naguib Mahfouz. It is one of his most recognized works[citation needed] and consists of 19 short stories. Although the collection was written before the 1967 Six-Day War, it was published two years after that. Therefore, it symbolizes the loss of this war,[1] and the stories flow between hopefulness and sadness.[2] The title story – "The Pub of The Black Cat" – revolves around a pub whose customers assimilate to a black cat; they give him their leftover food, and when their drunkenness allows them to have a good time, a strange man becomes a frequenter of this pub and becomes a source of fear and misery for them.[1]
Stories in the collection[3][edit]
- Kalima Ghayr Mafhuma (An Unknown Word): A story following a boy who dreams that the boy he killed forgives him.
- Al-Ṣada (Echo): A story following a man visiting his elderly mother after years of abandoning her. It is a monologue where the man speaks but refuses to apologize whilst the mother remains silent.
- Al-Khala' (Emptiness): A story following a man who abandons his town after being humiliated. He goes to Alexandria where he transforms into a fearful creature, and then goes back to his town to avenge himself.
- Al-Barman (The Barman): Follows a man's relationship with a barman, and it is one of the positive stories in the collection.
- Al-Muttaham (The Accused): Follows a man witnessing a truck driver running over a cyclist, before being accused of the crime himself.
- Al-Sakranu Yughanni (The Drunkman Sings): A story following a drunk man who hides in the bar until it closes so he can steal it. He is found out and the police come, so he threatens that he will burn himself and all the alcohol in the bar.
- Jannatul Aṭfal (Children's Heaven): A dialogue between a father and his daughter about religion, life, and death.
- Firdaws (Paradise): A story following a journalist specializing in prostitution and his visit to a town known for prostitution.
- Al-Rajalul Al-Saʿid (The Happy Man): A story following a man who suddenly wakes up feeling inexplicably happy.
- Muʿjiza (A Miracle): A story about a man who thinks he is a saint because of an incident that happened to him at a pub.
- Al-Majnuna (The Madwoman): A story following a village in a constant state of conflict for no clear reasons, symbolizing the state of many Arab societies.
- Khammarit Al-Qiṭ Al-Aswad (The Pub of the Black Cat): Follows a strange man who starts frequenting a pub with a close-knit customer group, before he intervenes and brings fear and terror into their lives.
- Ziyara (A Visit): A story following a sick elderly woman dominated by her maid before an incident occurs raising questions about the factualness of her maid's treatment of her.
- Ḥulm (A Dream): About an employee and his boss; his boss declines in the corporate ladder whilst the employee's position elevates.
- Riḥla (A Trip): A nostalgia-infused tale following a man's visit to his hometown and recollection of his past life there.
- Al-Masṭul Wal Qunbula (The Idiot and The Bomb): Following an apolitical idiot who decides to capitalize off politics despite his lack of knowledge.
- Ṣura (A Picture): A story about a murdered girl's photo in the desert and her story from the perspectives of all her relatives.
- Ṣawtun Mujʿijun (An Annoying Sound): A story following a journalist and a thinker, and their sex-filled, lazy, unproductive life.
- Scheherazade: A story following a woman who gives herself a fake name, Scheherazade, and calls a journalist to tell him her life story and her problems.
Literary criticism[edit]
Time and fear play the two most important roles in this collection. This is confirmed by Mahfouz's choice of "The Pub of the Black Cat" as the title story, as fear persists through that story.[4] Despite the fact that the events take place during the period before and after the Six-Day War, Mahfouz lends his collection a high level of symbolism, universalizing it and making it relatable to every time and place.
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Abdelrahman, Mohammad (13 November 2020). "100 Majmuʿa Qiṣaṣiya... "Khammarit Al-Qiṭ Al-Aswad" Al-Buka' ʿAla Hazeemit 1967 (100 Anthologies... "The Pub of The Black Cat" Sorrow Over The Defeat of 1967". Youm 7. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ↑ "Riwayit Khammarit Al-Qit Al Aswad (The Pub of The Black Cat: A Novel)". A5dr Book Encyclopedia. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ↑ Sherif, Saleh (10 June 2016). "Al-Khammara Wal Ḥaral Majnuna (The Pub and The Mad Town)". Annahar. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ↑ Al-Wardani, Mahmoud (10 December 2021). "The Pub of The Black Cat (Khammarit Al-Qiṭ Al-Aswad)". Akhbar El-Youm. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
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