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shesagift's review against another edition
2.0
While I appreciate the importance of Ibrahim's novel in its historical context, it just wasn't something that I thought was exceptional. The style and content didn't grab me. I was glad that it was only 110 pages, over 4 parts, because if the novel or notes had been longer, I might have been a bit bored. Stream of consciousness isn't my thing; there's not enough time for reflection or revelation, which are things I enjoy in the books I read. So while this isn't a book I'll be rereading, I'm glad I read it. I just read another book about this same era, so it was nice to get a very different perspective of a turbulent time in Egyptian history.
tonytharakan's review
2.0
I think I expected too much from this novella. While important in the context of Egypt's political history, there is little about prison life in this book, which was banned in 1966 immediately after publication. Sonallah Ibrahim is obviously a fan of Hemingway but when sparse prose meets stream of consciousness - and random people keep walking in and out of the narrator's life - it's no wonder I began to lose interest. The introduction to the novella did help me understand the context, but I am not sure if the autobiographical elements are enough to keep the readers hooked.
kingkong's review against another edition
4.0
He gets out of prison and just kind of hangs around, talks to people and thinks about girls
sunah's review against another edition
4.0
Quite an interesting book! I took a break between That Smell and the prison diaries, but I'd definitely recommend reading the introduction and diary excerpts alongside the novel. My favourite bit in all of it was actually from the introduction:
«In this sense, Notes from Prison can be read as a late episode in the debate between Realism and Modernism among intellectuals such as Georg Lukács, Berthold Brecht, and Walter Benjamin during the 1930s and '40s - the great age of speculation about the relationship between politics and literature. Those debates were still alive in the pages of La Nouvelle Critique, albeit in simplified form, and both Lukács and Brecht make appearances in Ibrahim's reading diary. For these writers the chief question was how to create a modern art form that would, in Marx's words, force mankind "to face with sober senses the real conditions of their lives and their relations with fellow men" - with the ambition, ultimately, to transform those conditions. If this goal now seems grandiose, that speaks to the reduced place literature holds in our own life rather than a flaw in the ambition.» (13-14)
«In this sense, Notes from Prison can be read as a late episode in the debate between Realism and Modernism among intellectuals such as Georg Lukács, Berthold Brecht, and Walter Benjamin during the 1930s and '40s - the great age of speculation about the relationship between politics and literature. Those debates were still alive in the pages of La Nouvelle Critique, albeit in simplified form, and both Lukács and Brecht make appearances in Ibrahim's reading diary. For these writers the chief question was how to create a modern art form that would, in Marx's words, force mankind "to face with sober senses the real conditions of their lives and their relations with fellow men" - with the ambition, ultimately, to transform those conditions. If this goal now seems grandiose, that speaks to the reduced place literature holds in our own life rather than a flaw in the ambition.» (13-14)
jacob_wren's review against another edition
5.0
from Notes from Prison (1964):
The days of its bold talk of sexual freedom long over, Communism has now become the most powerful force for Puritanism in the world.
.
Radcliffe girls believe that necking is dirty because it provokes desire without satisfying it. Intercourse is therefore more virtuous.
.
The new sexual freedom in the United States does not necessarily set people free… The great new sin today is no longer giving into desire, but not giving into it fully and successfully.
.
The days of its bold talk of sexual freedom long over, Communism has now become the most powerful force for Puritanism in the world.
.
Radcliffe girls believe that necking is dirty because it provokes desire without satisfying it. Intercourse is therefore more virtuous.
.
The new sexual freedom in the United States does not necessarily set people free… The great new sin today is no longer giving into desire, but not giving into it fully and successfully.
.
inspiredbygrass's review against another edition
3.0
I read this as part of the #invisiblecities2020 project where we are encouraged to read translated works from three countries a month . The Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz took up most of the month but I was keen to get to something more directly confrontational.
The short novella That Smell was banned in Egypt on publication in 1966 and I read Robin Cresswell recent translation . It's so different from Mahfouz , a sort of stripped back no frills no story account of a prisoner just released and his dull day to day existence, while still on probation and curfew .
Ibrahim was a political prisoner and kept a diary while incarcerated , his notes comprising the second part of this collection . He also shares his reflections on the novella , his influences and his determination to reflect the vulgar and profane in an unvarnished , unexamined monologue .
It's a short read and the repetitive rhythm , the lack of any internal dialogue , the relentless linear structure and lack of narrative arc all combine to produce an experience of life in a dictatorship. The human condition is dulled , death and pleasure occupy the same apathetic space . . I can see why the state didn't like it.
The short novella That Smell was banned in Egypt on publication in 1966 and I read Robin Cresswell recent translation . It's so different from Mahfouz , a sort of stripped back no frills no story account of a prisoner just released and his dull day to day existence, while still on probation and curfew .
Ibrahim was a political prisoner and kept a diary while incarcerated , his notes comprising the second part of this collection . He also shares his reflections on the novella , his influences and his determination to reflect the vulgar and profane in an unvarnished , unexamined monologue .
It's a short read and the repetitive rhythm , the lack of any internal dialogue , the relentless linear structure and lack of narrative arc all combine to produce an experience of life in a dictatorship. The human condition is dulled , death and pleasure occupy the same apathetic space . . I can see why the state didn't like it.
literaryinfatuation's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
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