The Mirage A Modern Arabic Novel Author:Naguib Mahfouz A psychological study of the first order with a subtly Freudian flavor, The Mirage is the autobiographical account of Kamil Ruāba, a tortured soul who finds himself struggling unduly to cope with lifeās challenges. The internal torment and angst that dog him throughout his life and the tragic, ironic turns of events that overtake him as a young ... more »man are, to a great extent, the outworkings of his faulty upbringing. At the same time, they work together to drive home the novelās underlying theme: the illusory, undependable nature of the world in which we live and the call to seek, beyond the outward and the ephemeral, that which is inward and enduring. The narrative, full of pathos, draws the reader unwittingly into a vicarious experience of Kamilās agonies and ecstasies. As such, it is a specimen of Mahfouzās prose at its finest.« less