Pyramid Texts by Gamal Al-Ghitani, Translated by Humphrey Davies, 131 Pages. Published by: The American University in Cairo Press

"PYRAMID Texts” the title of Gamal Al-Ghitani’s latest novel refers expressively to its content as well as to its form. The book, consisting of 14 chapters each one shorter than the last, is literally a pyramid of texts. The first chapter has 23 pages and the last chapter merely three words: “Nothing. Nothing. Nothing”.

This unusual novel was first published in 1994 in Arabic as “Mutun Al Ahram”. The narrative woven from the stories of various people, obsessed over the centuries, with the mysterious pyramids, ultimately highlights man’s eternal quest for truth.

Over the years Ghitani’s work has shown a definite search for man’s place in the Universe whereas novels by Naguib Mahfouz are characterized by a strong social realism. Ghitani recognizes Naguib Mahfouz as one of his mentors. Like Mahfouz, he was raised in the Al-Gamaliya district of Old Cairo.

“Pyramid Texts” exudes a strong mystical atmosphere reminiscent of his masterpiece “Kitab Al Tagalliyyat”, Book of Illuminations. Compared to Joyce’s “Ulysses” and Dante’s “Divine Comedy”, the Book of Illuminations was awarded, in 2005, the prestigious Laure Bataillon prize for translated literature, one of the highest French awards to be bestowed upon non-French writers.

Gamal Al-Ghitani is one of Egypt’s most famous contemporary writers. A novelist, short story writer and journalist, he was born in 1945 in Juhayna, situated in the Upper Egypt governorate of Sohag. He showed a precocious talent for writing. He wrote his first story at the age of 14, but was nevertheless trained to work as a carpet designer. Ghitani, however, despite his work in the Khan El-Khalili factories, continued to write. In 1969, he finally switched careers and joined the Akhbar Al-Yom newspaper. He is presently editor in chief of the influential literary journal Akhbar Al-Adab.

Edward Said described Ghitani’s prose as the “finest, leanest, most steely Arabic prose” and the readers might feel that some of that literary beauty has been lost in translation. The truth however lies elsewhere. Pyramid Texts goes beyond words as it hints toward infinity, emanating a whiff of eternity:

“He had now arrived at the fluid, incandescent, constant essence of the pyramid, which no human had described before: Beyond image, beyond depiction, beyond gesture, beyond words, beyond movement.”

“Pyramid Texts” does not come through as a clear narrative. Some of the shorter chapters are often clogged in mystery. An impatient reader might lack the persistence and serenity to search for any hidden meaning. And the patient reader will be disappointed to learn that the pyramids are inherently unknowable.

This beautifully crafted novel instilled with a strong mystical feeling inspired by Ibn Arabi can only appeal to a well-informed readership who like Juan Goytisolo enjoy being taken “through the mirages and ‘trompe l’oeils’ of the pyramids and their perennial fascination across the centuries”.