Superficially, the book is a sort of Egyptian Melrose Place set in World War II. The characters fall in and out of love with one another so quickly, it is hard to keep track sometimes. More deeply, the book has two themes: (1) the effect WWII and the British Army had on Egypt, and (2) the material foundation of morality. The army and soldiers seem to corrupt all that they touch, setting off ripples of unintended circumstance that painfully change life in the alley, and the poorest find the moral high ground only with great difficulty. But the author has a light touch. The message isn't driven home; it is instead woven throughout the whole story. I found that the book made a good "airplane book," although I would have enjoyed reading it in any setting.

The author, Naguib Mahfouz won the Nobel Prize in 1988. The book has been on my shelf for about a year; now seemed like an appropriate time to read it.

I found the Arabic names difficult to keep track of. Also, the book is set in a small alley, and the relative locations of the buildings is a relevant part of the story. In order to keep track of all this, I drew up the following cheat sheet:

[Note: This review was edited on 11/9/02 to make it less useful for young book report writers who seemed to be plagiarizing it in great numbers.]