Poetic Obituaries: [Naguib Mahfouz] was the first

Arab writer to receive the Nobel Prize, and while many of his works had been translated into French, Swedish and German, he was largely unknown in the United States and Europe in 1988. Only about a dozen Mahfouz books had been rendered into English, and many were out of print.

from The New York Times: Naguib Mahfouz, Chronicler of Arab Life, Dies at 94

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