Title: The days
First published: 1997
Description: Al Ayyam is a book which is written by Taha Hussein who is a famous Egyptian writer. Taha Hussein is  known as the dean of Arabic literature. He was an influential 20th century writer. His book, Al Ayyam, narrates his own childhood and his miserable life in  a village called Izbet El Kilo in EL Minya governorate. This bookis a perfect creative model of the autobiography. He presented his life in  a story to give the Arabic youth symbols of hope. The book is divided into three parts in which he is visualizing the three stages of his life.

The first part of the book mirrors the childhood times of Taha Hussein life in the village. In addition, the way in which he presented his life in the village shows how his childhood was miserable. The ignorance of the people in the writer's village caused his blindness. In Al Ayyam, Taha Hussein's blindness was a result of his family ignorance. After using an un-known medicine on his eyes by his mother, he became blind. However, Taha Hussein never gave up. He went to Al Kottab where he memorized the whole Qur'an. In his childhood, the writer's main aim was to join Al Azhar University to gain more and more knowledge. Moreover, Taha Hussein tried to present both good and bad sides in this stage of his childhood in the countryside.

The second and the third parts of this book narrated the mature stage of the writer's life in which he joined Al Azhar, the prestigious national university, and in which he had an educational journey in France.

 The second part tackled Taha Hussein's life in the city where he became a scholar in Al Azhar University as he wished. In this stage, Taha became more mature. Although he was blind, this did not make him stop seeking knowledge. The writer was rebellious that, in his book, he always criticized his teachers for their ways of teaching. Adding to that, through his description of the city and the house where he was living, the writer reflected the defects of the city.

The third part and the last stage of the writer's life mirrored his study in the national university. Then he had a chance to travel to France where he acquired the Bachelor and doctoral degrees, and the post-graduate diploma. Afterwards, he came back to Egypt as a professor at the university.

In conclusion, Taha Hussein main aims in his book included nostalgia of childhood, the desire of giving the youth symbols of hope, the desire of remembering his old life, the desire of facing the present and taking revenge by showing that there is nothing impossible. Although he was blind, he managed to reach a big tile in the Arabic literature, his book Al Ayyam makes us respect this writer and to never give up our dreams.
Subjects: Arab Authors, Authors, Arab, Biography, Egypt, biography, Écrivains arabes, Biographies
Places: Egypt
People: Ḥusayn, Ṭāhā (1889-1973)
Time periods: 20th century
LC classification: PJ7864.A35 D39 1997