Name: Distant View of a Minaret
ISBN: 9780435909123

Alifa Rifaat

Alifa Rifaat, an Egyptian, lifts the veil on what it means to be a woman living within a traditional Muslim society.

And Other Stories

Distant View of a Minaret

Marion

 All my life I'd been ruled by a man, first my father and then my husband. I thought when he died I'd be free and on my own and would do as I liked. 

Daughter, I'm not crying now because I'm fed up or regret that the Lord created me a woman. No, it's not that. It's just that I'm sad about my life and my youth that have come and gone without my knowing how to live them really and truly as a woman.

What desperate contact is someone trying to make at this hour of the night? Is it a matter of life or death, or perhaps one of love? There is nothing like love to induce such a state of despair, no other reason to explain such obstinacy: a lover has been left and seeks the opportunity to plead to be allowed back. He must know that his beloved is at the other end and is refusing to pick up the receiver.

  This stillness and darkness brought about in Aziza a deep melancholy after her busy day, an acute sensation that her life somehow contained no future. Everyone else lived in hope yet her own life was a struggle to ensure that the present routine continued for ever./

Every year I’ll find a somewhat obscure book that changes my whole life. What a powerful collection this short story collection from Egypt is. The author who’s own life mirrors that of some of the women in her book was unable to get a university education which when she asked for, her family interpreted this as a sign  to find her a suitable husband. She spent her years in marriage reading Arabic texts ferociously and writing when she could.

The two subjects that dominate this collection are sex and death. In the standout story named after collection “Distant View of a minaret” a woman’s wishes to be fulfilled sexually are openly stated. Most of the stories are about women in marriages as this is in line with what relationships are accepted in the Islamic faith. A lot of the stories are centered around the Muslim call to prayer that is integral to all her characters lives. Another theme she navigates is the tension between a spiritual life and the deep dissatisfaction a lot of women have in this society. (1980s Egypt perhaps things are different now)

A really stunning and sophisticated collection about female desire, loneliness and the interior lives of women that I will be thinking about for a long time.

Every year I’ll find a somewhat obscure book that changes my whole life. What a powerful collection this short story collection from Egypt is. The author who’s own life mirrors that of some of the women in her book was unable to get a university education which when she asked for, her family interpreted this as a sign  to find her a suitable husband. She spent her years in marriage reading Arabic texts ferociously and writing when she could.

The two subjects that dominate this collection are sex and death. In the standout story named after collection “Distant View of a minaret” a woman’s wishes to be fulfilled sexually are openly stated. Most of the stories are about women in marriages as this is in line with what relationships are accepted in the Islamic faith. A lot of the stories are centered around the Muslim call to prayer that is integral to all her characters lives. Another theme she navigates is the tension between a spiritual life and the deep dissatisfaction a lot of women have in this society. (1980s Egypt perhaps things are different now)

A really stunning and sophisticated collection about female desire, loneliness and the interior lives of women that I will be thinking about for a long time.

Distant View of a Minaret And Other Stories

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