Garden mint

"How can I write about the countryside when we have Khairy Shalaby among us?"
Naguib Mahfouz

"It turns out we're not worthy of preserving any history. Do you think I'm ignorant, Abu Saud Effendi? My brother, it's enough that I've lived with you all these years. Damn the history I protect that doesn't protect me, that forces me to remain its mere guardian for life. This history disturbs my sleep, and every time I look into it, I find myself small! And I find it disgusted by the cupboard where I've placed it! By the hand that might scratch it! And I find myself terrified of the envious eye that will covet it, and the vile souls that seek to steal it!"
"Do you want us, Abu Saud Effendi, to repeat what happened to us all over again? As long as we have the box, the devil is in our house. All our children will fight over it."

Khairy Shalaby (1938-2011) was one of the most important Egyptian writers and novelists. He was born in the village of Shabas Amir in Kafr El Sheikh Governorate. He published more than seventy books. He received numerous awards and honors, most notably the State Encouragement Award in Literature, the Order of Sciences and Arts (First Class), and the State Appreciation Award in Literature.