Published in Arabic in 1965, The Beggar a heart-rending and deeply philosophical novel.

Its protagonist, Omar al-Hamzawi, is a successful lawyer who finds himself abruptly unable to believe in the life he has built. Omar drifts through political circles, failed pleasures, old friendships and spiritual exhaustion in search of something capable of restoring meaning.

Written during a pivotal period in Mahfouz's career, the novel reflects on the promises and failures of modernity, the aftermath of revolution, and the uneasy relationship between science, art and belief. Mahfouz constructs an unsettling portrait of alienation that recalls Camus and Sartre while remaining rooted in the social and intellectual landscape of post-revolutionary Cairo. One of the Nobel laureate's finest shorter novels, The Beggar is an ideal entry point into his later philosophical fiction.

Anchor Books paperback, first Anchor Books edition, first printing (August 1990). Translated by Kristin Walker Henry and Nariman Khales Naili al-Warraki. Very good condition with light shelf wear and minor edge rubbing. Binding is firm and pages are clean throughout.