The Resume

(December 11, 1911-August 30, 2006)
Wrote ‘Whisper of Madness (1938),' ‘Sugar Street (1957),' ‘Children of Gebelawi (1959), ‘Akhenaten, Dweller in Truth (1985)' and ‘Fountain and Tomb (1988)'
Received Nobel Prize for Literature (1988)
Survived assassination attempt in 1994

Why he might be annoying:

He was a civil servant for 35 years.
He claimed most Egyptians prefer watching filmed versions of his work to actually reading him.
His experimental fiction was met with mixed reviews.
A Cairo tourist trap, 'Naguib Mahfouz Café,' was named in his honor.

Why he might not be annoying:

He is probably the Arab writer with the most name recognition in the West.
His detailed, socially conscious prose has been compared to that of Charles Dickens.
When Edward Said tried to find him a publisher in New York, he was told Arabic was a 'problematic' language.
Jacqueline Onassis championed him and got him a contract at Double Day.
'Children of Gebelawi' was condemned as blasphemous by fanatics and blamed for encouraging Salman Rushdie to write 'The Satanic Verses.'
In 1994 he was stabbed repeatedly in the neck by Islamic fundamentalists.
Nerve damage from the attack ended his writing career.

Credit: Georgina

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Celebrities Born on the Same Date [December] (Ranked: 12111911)
• Georgina/Devil Doll's Profiles [Series 1]
• I am Egyptian
• I Died in 2006 (Ranked: 94)
• I Died in the City I Was Born In
• I Survived an Assassination Attempt
• I was Stabbed
• Look at Me, I'm a Man in Shades
• National Endowment for the Arts’ The Big Read Selections [Authors] (Ranked: 2008)
• Nobel Prize for Literature
• Profiles 17751-18000 (Ranked: 17817)
• We Died on the Same Day (Ranked: 20060830)
• World Literature Today Top 40 [2001] (Ranked: 1956)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 12 Votes: 16.67% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 6 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 18 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 14 Votes: 64.29% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 26 Votes: 61.54% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 20 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
In 2008, Out of 28 Votes: 67.86% Annoying
In 2007, Out of 62 Votes: 67.74% Annoying
In 2006, Out of 122 Votes: 51.64% Annoying