Northeast African Literature

Question 1

• A series, one of the greatest works: The three stories of the trilogy comprises Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, and Sugar Street.
• Chronicles a family over three generations against the backdrop of modern Egyptian history.

Answer 1

The Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz

Question 2

A landmark collection of short stories showcasing urban Sudanese life and modernism.

Answer 2

The Book of Khartoum: A City in Short Fiction (Various Sudanese Writers)

Question 3

Deals with war, survival, and individualism, often read alongside Northeast African themes of displacement.

Answer 3

The Life and Times of Michael K by J.M. Coetzee (South Africa—but thematically relevant in colonial African discourse)

Question 4

• First Arab writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature (1988).
• Known for philosophical novels exploring society, politics, religion, and the individual’s place in the universe.

Answer 4

Naguib Mahfouz

Question 5

• Acclaimed for his novel Season of Migration to the North.
• Explores the impact of colonialism and bicultural identity on the postcolonial subject

Answer 5

Tayeb Salih

Question 6

Although Southern African, his mythopoetic storytelling and postcolonial themes resonate across Africa.

Answer 6

Mia Couto (Mozambique)

Question 7

A founding figure of African cinema and postcolonial African fiction.

Answer 7

Sembene Ousmane (Senegal) – included in broader African literature discourse

Question 8

A short story that allegorizes the entire human life cycle through a deceptively simple narrative about a boy attending school.

Published in 1989, it blends realism with allegory to reflect on time, identity, and the pace of modern change.

Answer 8

Half a Day by Naguib Mahfouz