''Adrift on the Nile'' (''Thartharah fawqa al-Nīl'', ar, ثرثرة فوق النيل) is a 1966 book by

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

ian author and Nobel Laureate

Naguib Mahfouz Naguib Mahfouz Abdelaziz Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Basha ( arz, نجيب محفوظ عبد العزيز ابراهيم احمد الباشا, ; 11 December 1911 – 30 August 2006) was an Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature. M ...

. The novel was later made into a 1971 film, '' Chitchat on the Nile''. The book follows Anis Zani who smokes

kief Kief (from Moroccan Arabic كيف ''kīf'', "Joy, pleasure"), sometimes transliterated as keef, also known as ‘’Dust’’ and "Chief" a.k.a cannabis crystals among other names, refers to the pure and clean collection of loose cannabis trich ...

every night with a group of friends on a houseboat on the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...

. Anis works as a civil servant but soon finds his life encumbered by his drug use. The book explores nihilism and spiritual emptiness.

Plot summary

The book starts out with Anis Zani, the protagonist, being disciplined by his boss for submitting a blank report. It's revealed that Anis wrote the report under the influence of drugs, which prevented him from realizing his pen was out of ink. Anis and a group of fellow addicts get together every night to smoke keif on a houseboat on the Nile. Samara, a young journalist, visits the group in order to report on them. The tranquility of the group collapses as they begin to argue about topics like love, morality and purpose. The downfall of the group is accelerated when, one night as they are taking a midnight excursion by car, they hit a person and flee the scene.

Awards

* The Nobel Prize in Literature 1988

References

1966 novels Arabic-language novels Nile in fiction Novels by Naguib Mahfouz Egyptian novels adapted into films {{1960s-novel-stub