AN EGYPTIAN CHILDHOOD By Dr. Taba Hussein Ati Egyptian Childhood,
by Taha Hussein (Routledge, Lis.) is a very remarkable book from many , points of view, chiefly as being the first thing of its kind to come from Egypt ; and though it may seem stark, even clumsy here and there, its originality, startling in the background from which it springs, should make the reader accustomed to European slickness tender towards its deficiencies. It is also remarkable on account of its author, Dr. Taha Hussein, who, though blind since infancy, is the foremoSt of Arabic scholars hi Egypt, and Dean of the Faculty of Arts in the University. This is the first really modern prose book to issue from Egypt, for though some fiction has appeared recently, that was rather in the nature of pastiche from the French than really indigenous. Another reason to recommend it is that it gives a first-hand view of life in the average Egyptian village or small town, revealing the almost incredible outlook of decayed medi- aevalism (on which this book makes an attack), and also of the peculiar family relationships. Dr. Taha writes with unflinching honesty, and thus has called forth a storm of abuse, such as he experienced when he published his book on the pre- Islamic poems. The orthodox and retrograde do not love Dr. Taha, who goes forward bravely on his course, and is for that reason one of the most influential men where the culture of Egypt is concerned. The book is well worth reading for its own sake as an autobiography, for though written with a sternness which does not spare the author himself, it is here and there exquisite, and always restrained. The book, translated by Mr. E. H. Paxton, with explanatory notes where necessary, should be welcomed as a symbol of Egypt's awakening into a new culture of its own.
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