The Thief and the Dogs

The Thief and the Dogs is a 1961 surrealist, existentialist novel by Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz. Mahfouz won the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature and The Thief and the Dogs is considered one of his most celebrated works. The novel has been adapted for Egyptian television, and is the first novel written in Arabic to use the stream-of-consciousness style. Published nearly ten years after the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, the novel is also considered an expression of disappointment and disillusionment with the new Egyptian government. This guide refers to the eBook edition of the 1984 English translation by Trevor Le Gassick and M. M. Badawi.

Plot Summary

Said Mahran is released after four years in prison for petty theft. He returns to his neighborhood in Cairo and wants revenge against the people he believes betrayed him. These people include his ex-wife Nabawiyya, who is now married to his former friend, Ilish. Said travels to Ilish's house, where the neighbors warn him to behave. Ilish welcomes Said into his house but dismisses the idea that he betrayed Said by marrying Nabawiyya and denies stealing the money Said accumulated during his criminal career. Ilish claims that he only married Nabawiyya because he felt duty-bound as Said's friend to take care of her. Ilish fetches Sana, Said's estranged daughter, who weeps when she meets her father. Said leaves.

Said spends the night in the house of a religious leader named Sheikh Ali al-Junaydi. The Sheikh speaks in cryptic phrases and encourages Said to find his faith but Said ignores the old man. The next day, Said visits the home of another former friend, Rauf Ilwan. Ilwan was once a revolutionary writer who inspired Said, teaching Said that his crimes were part of a war against the rich elite. Said feels betrayed by Ilwan because Ilwan is now a rich and powerful journalist. After an awkward conversation, Said decides to rob his former mentor. That night, Said breaks into Ilwan's house but Ilwan is waiting for him and sends Said away.

Said visits a café run by a friend named Tarzan. The café is populated with other petty criminals, including a prostitute named Nur. Said asks Tarzan for a gun and Tarzan obliges him. Said hatches a plan with Nur to rob one of her rich clients. That night, he steals the man's money and car. Said plans to murder Ilish, Nabawiyya, and Ilwan. That night, he visits Ilish's house and shoots a man. The next day, Said discovers that he shot an innocent man, and realizes that Ilish and Nabawiyya must have escaped. Meanwhile, Said’s profile appears in all the newspapers, particularly the newspaper which employs Ilwan, because he was spotted at the scene of the murder. Now a wanted man, Said visits Nur, who encourages Said to give up his quest for revenge and escape with her. Nur loves Said, but he ignores her. He sits alone in her dark apartment while she works, thinking about his youth and his desire for revenge against the people who betrayed him, whom he refers to as dogs.

Said avoids the police. He begins to believe that his new notoriety has turned him into a hero in Cairo, as he considers his crimes as a kind of war on behalf of the poor. Said returns to Ilwan's house and waits outside for Ilwan to arrive. Said tries to shoot his former mentor, but misses and kills another innocent man. Said flees and hides in Nur's apartment. Nur is angry when she finds out about Said's latest murder. She spends more time away from the apartment, leaving Said alone with his paranoid thoughts. Said leaves the apartment in search of food and becomes increasingly desperate and suspicious. After one final night in the Sheikh's house, Said wakes up and tries to visit Nur. He is intercepted by the police who chase Said through the cemetery near Nur’s apartment. The police and their dogs corner Said, who thinks about staging one final showdown. The police open fire and kill Said.