''The Days'' () is a novelized
autobiography
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...
in three volumes by the Egyptian professor
Taha Hussein
Taha Hussein (, ; November 15, 1889 – October 28, 1973) was among the most influential 20th-century Egyptian writers and intellectuals, and a leading figure of the Arab Renaissance and the modernist movement in the Arab world. His sobriquet ...
, published between 1926 and 1967. It deals with his childhood in a small village, then his studies in Egypt and France. It is one of the most popular works of modern
Arabic literature
Arabic literature ( / ALA-LC: ''al-Adab al-‘Arabī'') is the writing, both as prose and poetry, produced by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is ''Adab (Islam), Adab'', which comes from a meaning of etiquett ...
.
Volumes
The first volume was serialized in ''
Al-Hilal'', a literary magazine, from January 1926 to January 1927, then published as a book in 1929. It covers the author's childhood, with themes of the ignorance prevalent in rural Egypt and the customs practiced at that time and provides a detailed description of traditional Islamic education. It is written in a mixture of first- and third-person narrative. Hussein often interrupts himself, suggesting a lack of control. There are many references to the art of listening and descriptive details about the way things smell or feel, as Hussein subtly reveals that he has gone blind. It was published in English in 1932, titled ''An Egyptian Childhood'' and translated by E. H. Paxton.
Volume two was published as a book in 1940. It covers the time from his entrance into Al-Azhar to his entrance into
Cairo University
Cairo University () is Egypt's premier public university. Its main campus is in Giza, immediately across the Nile from Cairo. It was founded on 21 December 1908;"Brief history and development of Cairo University." Cairo University Faculty of En ...
, focusing on his rebellion against his teachers and the traditions of Al-Azhar.
Hilary Wayment translated it as ''The Stream of Days'' in 1948.
The third volume was serialized from March 1955 to June 1955 in the magazine ''
Akher Saa'', then published as a book in 1967. It is about the author's time at Cairo University, then his studies in France, where he obtained a doctorate degree, and finally his return to Egypt, where he became a professor. An English translation by
Kenneth Cragg was published in 1973, under the title ''A Passage to France''.
Reception and influence
According to scholar
Fedwa Malti-Douglas, "no other work of modern Arabic literature is so familiar to readers in both the Arab world and the West." The stylistic techniques employed by Hussein, especially the ironic dialogue between the narrator and the Hussein's childhood self, had a significant impact on the development of the Arabic novel.
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Days, The
1929 books
Egyptian autobiographies
Literary autobiographies
Books by Taha Hussein
Egyptian novels