The same words apply today, to Naguib Mahfouz, master of the Arabic novel.

It was selected by the Arab Writers Union as one of the 100 best Arabic novels of the 20th century.

He is one of the pioneers of the Arabic novel and drama.

Arabic novels offer a marvellous array of answers to questions we did not know we wanted to ask.

Few Arabic novels sell enough copies to earn their authors anything like a living income; even Mahfouz kept a civil-service job until he was sixty.

Claudia Roth Pierpont on the Arabic novel in translation.

A rich Arabic novel of the Arab experience, full of pain but tempered by hope.

In 2001, the book was declared "the most important Arabic novel of the 20th century" by the Arab Literary Academy.

In many ways, Arabic novels are still having a conversation with the culture at large-they're very engaged-and it's reflected in this style of novel.

Because the Arabic novel was written in an accessible language, individualized education took a huge step away from the religious elite and towards the general population.