To tie in with the theme of the next issue of Banipal (out in July), the Banipal Book Club will be discussing Midaq Alley, by Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz. Banipal 62 has the theme of literature and film so we will also be discussing the film adaptations of the novel, which was published in Arabic in 1947 and translated into English by Trevor Le Gassick in 1966.

If you have any problems getting a copy of the book please let us know. The English version is available from the BALMAL library and the SOAS library, and from the usual booksellers.

The 1963 Arabic film Zuqaq al-Midaq (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0175366/reference) can be found on YouTube, as can clips of the 1995 Mexican adaptation El Callejón de los Milagros (‘Alley of Miracles’, the Spanish name for the novel), which stars Salma Hayek and transfers the story from Cairo to Mexico City (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112619/).

The Book Club meetings are free but please RSVP, either by email (bookclub@banipal.co.uk) or via the Facebook page.