اللص والكلاب (1962)

The story revolves around the novel’s main character, Saïd Mehran, who is imprisoned after being denounced by a man named Alish. Alish later marries Saïd’s wife after Saïd has divorced her. Saïd Mehran is released from prison and discovers that the world has changed and people’s attitudes have shifted. He is also shocked when his little daughter rejects him and does not recognize him. He then turns to his old journalist friend, Raouf Alwan, who has changed all his allegiances and slogans, but has gained nothing but contempt, insults, and persecution from the security forces. Saïd is confronted with this painful reality. As a last resort, he turns to Sheikh Jundi in his cell, begging him to get him out of this predicament, but he too fails to find a solution. Saïd decides to take revenge on the traitors and reclaim the years of his life that he has lost. The hero’s crisis is present from the outset, stemming from his daughter’s rejection, his wife’s betrayal, and his friend’s treachery. Sanaa, Nbouya, and Alish are the architects of the hero’s tormented psychological state. This is when Saïd Mehran’s journey of vengeance begins. When honest people abandoned him, dishonest people gave him justice: Nour, the prostitute, showed him kindness when he found refuge in her home and in her heart. But just as he tasted loyalty in her embrace, he also tasted the bitterness of the crisis: his wife betrayed him, while the prostitute remained faithful to him. What irony does fate have in store for him? In any case, for the first time, his heart fills with genuine affection for another human being—and that human being was Nour! As the pursuit unfolds, it becomes clear that fate itself, in bitter irony, is on the side of the dogs. When Saïd Mehran slips out into the night to murder his thieving, treacherous friend Alish, his bullets kill an innocent stranger who had rented his apartment after him. And when Saïd Mehran slips out into the night to murder the social reformer and preacher Raouf Alwan, his bullets bring down the innocent poor caretaker. Saïd Mehran flees, having lost all hope of ridding the world of the dogs. A new hunt begins: society searches for this new serial killer. The police will not let him go, because it is their duty, and public opinion will not let him go, because the press stokes it.