Sugar Street by Naguib Mafouz

Sugar Street by Naguib Mafouz
Read: December 2009 - January 2010

I started this term off reading some of the books bought over the summer, but realised that I wanted to finish the Cairo Trilogy before the year was out and so borrowed this from the Library to read over Christmas. I got about a third of the way through and then finished the rest in January. The story picks up a number of years on with the heads of the family showing their age, and the children living married life.
The constants are Amina and Ahmed, who are no longer called "the father" and "the mother" in the second person, but are always referred to by name. It is in fact the family name that plays a key role in the stories of this book. As the grandchildren are getting jobs, their father's name and their uncle's name secure them positions. Kamal falls for the sister of an old friend, where again the family name provides a link between the past and the present. In the closing chapters it is the family name, and that of the martyr Fahmy, that hopes to save the brothers from prison.
But the constants of family change in this final book. Ahmed Al-Sayed's deteriorating health means he gives up his business, but cannot give up his determination. The occasion of his death hits the family very hard, and there is mourning across the whole distract which he has inhabited. As the book closes, Amina is near-death and it is this that bring a realisation and close to the saga. Without Amina and Al-Sayed the children are at a loss and an era is drawn to an end.
With so many characters now in the family, it was hard to follow everyone's story and personal journey. Kamal continues to drive himself to distraction with his refusal to marry, but his desire for Aida and then Budur. The family do not know how to advise him and he doesn't know himself what he really wants. He chooses to follow his career and seems satisfied with his successes there, but you can see the longing for something more - although he would never commit to that.
I was unsure about Yasin at the end of the book. Throughout this book he had made a good attempt at his marriage, as had Zanuba with the position of being his wife. She had become accepted at the Coffee Mornings - the key aspect of life in Palace Walk - but he is still seen and sometimes acts as the wild sibling.
Al-Husayn is a constant for Amina, and it is right that he days end with a visit planned. Whilst religion has changed in meaning for many members of the family, it was still a point of belief (one way or another) for them all, which ended up defining most of their journeys.