cover image Palace of Desire: Cairo Trilogy (2)

Palace of Desire: Cairo Trilogy (2)

Naguib Mahfouz, Najib Mahfuz. Anchor Books, $15.95 (432pp) ISBN 978-0-385-26468-6

In this second volume of Nobel laureate Mahfouz's Cairo trilogy, a tyrannical father discovers that his mistress has secretly married his just-divorced son. ``A masterpiece, albeit a wordy, very leisurely one, this family saga is well served by a scintillating translation that exposes English-language readers to an Egyptian Balzac,'' said PW. (Jan.)