Book reviews

The Thief and the Dogs
Naguib Mahfouz Book Review

Read a book review online (click here to search reviews)
Books Movies  
Sci-Fi/Fantasy Mystery/Thriller Literature Romance Biography History
Naguib Mahfouz Books
New book search
Naguib Mahfouz Message Board
Get more information about this book
Plot Summary of The Thief and the Dogs
"Said Mahran has been in jail for the past four years, plotting, waiting for the moment he can confront the man and woman who betrayed him and ruined his life. When the moment comes, Said's plans don't work out as he'd expected and soon he's in deeper trouble then he'd ever imagined. Filled with religion, guilt, and motivation, The Thief and the Dogs has an incredible commentary on Egyptian life in the early twentieth century."
Meredith Griffin, Resident Scholar

"Said, a thief is let out of prison and is set on seeking revenge against his wife and former employee who betrayed him to the police. He is also seeking revenge on his former mentor who sold out to become the proletariat. He mistakenly kills two innocent people and is never redeemed in the end."
Sandy, Resident Scholar

"Said is a thief who is in prison for an extensive amount of time. He is released when the book begins and seeks revenge on his wife and friend who betrayed him. Said is very lost and will only find satisfaction when he gets what he wants. He devises a plan but accidentally kills two innocent civilians in the process. Said never accomplishes his plan and unfortunately will never find emotional peace. "
Matt Josey, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of The Thief and the Dogs
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - depressed
Time/era of story - 19th century
Inside culture (main char) - Arab
Internal struggle/realization? Yes
Struggle over - revenge!!!!
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Outside culture (society) - Arabic
Ethnic/regional/gender life Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - accused criminal
Age: - 20's-30's
Ethnicity/Nationality - Arab
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 4 (a fair amount)
Africa Yes
Kind of Africa: - Arabic Africa
City? Yes
City: - dirty, grimy (like New York)
Misc setting - prison

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references - descript of kissing
Unusual Style: - a lot of flashback and forwards - a lot of stream of consciousness
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Most similar books to The Thief and the Dogs
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
The Trial by Franz Kafka
Downstream by J.K. Huysmans
The Dark Light by Mette Newth


Click here for more information about this book


Naguib Mahfouz Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Matt Josey  

SCHOLARS:
David Loftus  Tiziana Floretti  


Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
Three ways to search for Literature books!

1) One-click plot searches! Simply click on a plot or subplot below!

Animal story

Crime & Police story

Ethnic/regional/gender life

Exploring into the wild

Family, caring for ill

Family, loving relations

Family, struggle with

Internal struggle/realization?

Job/Profession/Status story

Kids growing up/acting up?

Political/social activism

Poverty, surviving

Pregnancy/Child rearing

Religion theme?

Romance/Romance Problems

Sports Story?

War/Revolt/Disaster on civilians



or 2) Simple lookup
(title or author)

or
3) Even more search options available with a Detailed Booksearch (click here)

Use our site!
Feedback
About us




Most recent discussions:

General Book Talk
Book writing discussion
Off-topic message board
.
Danielle Steel 3:55:15 AM
Anonymous 12:19:46 AM
M.T. Anderson 11:43:30 PM
General Discussion (All Topics) 8:54:00 PM
Marlo Morgan 8:28:20 PM
Deric Longden 7:32:09 PM
Dave Pelzer 6:52:56 PM
Lurlene McDaniel 5:58:08 PM
Robert Segarra 5:48:05 PM
Jean M. Auel 3:13:06 PM
Lynn and Gilbert Morris 1:31:36 PM
Dean Koontz 12:02:10 PM
Vince Flynn 7:10:39 AM
Lori Wick 12:03:25 AM
Suzanne Collins 9:12:08 PM
George W. Bush 7:53:33 PM
Christopher Stasheff 6:25:29 PM
Jane Juska 5:48:53 PM
Cecelia Ahern 10:53:33 AM
Lilian Jackson Braun 9:30:43 PM

More message boards