Ahmed Khaled Tawfik

Ahmed Khaled Tawfik Farrag (10 June 1962 – 2 April 2018[3]) was an Egyptian author and a physician,[4] also known as Ahmed Khaled Tawfek who wrote more than 200 paperbacks, in both Egyptian Arabic and Classical Arabic. He was the first contemporary writer of horror and science fiction in the Arabic speaking world and also the first writer to explore the medical thriller genre.[5][6][7]

Ahmed Khaled Tawfik
أحمد خالد توفيق
BornAhmed Khaled Tawfik Farraag
(1962-06-10)10 June 1962
Tanta, Egypt
Died2 April 2018(2018-04-02) (aged 55)[1]
Cairo, Egypt
OccupationNovelist, author and poet. Former professor of medicine at Tanta University, Egypt.
NationalityEgyptian
GenreHorror, drama and comedy
Notable awardsUtopia shortlisted for 2012 Science Fiction & Fantasy Translation Awards[2]

Tawfik is considered by many to have been one of the most influential writers of his time. His legacy has influenced thousands of Arabic language authors.[5]

Biography

Born on 10 June 1962 in the northern Egyptian city of Tanta,[8][6] Tawfik graduated from Tanta University's medical school in 1985.[8] He attained a PhD in 1997.[7] In 1992, he joined the Modern Arab Association publishing company and began writing his first series of novels the following year.[9] In January 1993, he published the first installment in his horror/thriller series Ma Waraa Al Tabiaa (Arabic: ما وراء الطبيعة‎) which translates to Beyond nature or "Metaphysics" .[7][9] He also writes periodical articles for journals and web-based magazines such as El Destoor and Rewayty.[10] His writing style has appealed to both Egyptian and broader Arabic-speaking audiences, gaining him popularity in Egypt and the Middle East.[10]

Tawfik's novels typically feature all Egyptian characters and are set both in Egypt and around the world. Some of his characters are semi-autobiographical. Tawfik draws from personal experiences in their creation; fans consider him their "godfather" and identify him most closely with his character, Refaat Ismael, who was featured in the Ma Waraa Al Tabiaa series.[10] His book Utopia may even reflect Egypt as it is becoming, with rich and poor and no middle-class.[11]

Characters

Refaat Ismael

Refaat Ismael is the main character of Ma Waraa Al Tabiaa. He is a retired doctor who leads a life, chock-full of paranormal experiences. A bachelor with a sarcastic attitude, this character is widely loved by fans of Egyptian pocket novels.

Alaa abdel Azeem

Alaa abdel Azeem is the main character of the Safari. He's a young, Egyptian physician who works for a fictitious, medical establishment named Safari, with branches in African countries. Safari's sole purpose is to hunt diseases. The character is married to Bernadette Jones, a Canadian pediatrician. This character is witty, nervous, not the greatest physician but a quick study who enjoys performing surgeries.

Abeer abdel Rahman

Abeer abdel Rahman is the main character of the Fantazia series. She's a simple, Egyptian housewife with average looks, but well read. She marries a handsome, computer programmer, Sherif, who has invented DG-2 (Dream Generator 2), a high tech device that can materialize preexisting human knowledge into dreams. With the device, Abeer has the chance to participate in any story she knows and live with any character- (Superman, Batman, Adham Sabri).

Works

He began writing his stories when he was only ten years old and he wrote, in all, more than 500 books.[5] His series Fantasia was the first of its kind; a plot that presents famous literary works to young people, through an interactive presentation. "Fantasia" presented his readers to a wide spectrum of topics from Arthur Conan Doyle and Sikhism, to Fyodor Dostoevsky and the Mafia's Cosa Nostra.

Other works include:

  • Beyond natural
  • An Arabic translation of Chuck Palahniuk's novel Fight Club.[12]
  • Utopia is about Egyptian people living in a dystopian and utopian society, separated by walls. It's a fictional, political-minded novel, published by Merit, translated into English by Chip Rosetti and chosen to become a major motion picture, with a scheduled release date of 2017.[13][6]
  • El-Singa (Egyptian slang for The Knife) is an Egyptian politically-flavored novel published by Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing.[14]
  • Just Like Icarus is a fictional political-minded novel, published by Dar El Shorouq.[15]
  • Ahmad Khaled also wrote periodical articles for "El Dostoor" newspaper in Egypt.
  • Rewayat (Egyptian pocket novels)[16]
  • Shabeeb Novel

Death

Ahmed Khaled Tawfik died on 2 April 2018 at El Demerdash Hospital in Cairo, Egypt.[17][18] He had undergone, on the same day, a cardiac ablation surgery to correct his long-term arrhythmia. The immediate cause of death was reported to be cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation that he suffered few hours after waking up from the surgery.[19]

Tribute

On 10 June 2019, on Tawfik's 57th birthday, he was honored with a Google Doodle.[20]

See also

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Science Fiction & Fantasy Translation Awards, '2012 Nominees' "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 23 May 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Al-Dustour Newspaper: The Death of novelist Ahmed Khaled Tawfiq". dostor.org. Archived from the original on 3 April 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  4. "BQFP signs up Ahmed Khaled Taufiq's dystopian novel 'utopia'". The Tanjara. 10 July 2010. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
  5. Yaqoob, Tahira (16 March 2012). "Ahmed Khaled Towfik, Egypt's doctor of escapism". The National. Archived from the original on 17 November 2016.
  6. Byrnes, Sholto (17 September 2011). "Utopia, By Ahmed Khaled Towfik". The Independent. Archived from the original on 17 November 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  7. "Utopia by Ahmed Khaled Tawfik is second best". Ahram Online. 15 February 2012. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017.
  8. Yaqoob, Tahira (16 March 2012). "Ahmed Khaled Towfik, Egypt's doctor of escapism". Archived from the original on 17 November 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  9. "Ahmed Khaled Tawfik / Abu Dhabi International Book Fair". Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  10. "Dr. Ahmed Khaled Tawfik Author Page". Archived from the original on 31 January 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  11. Deyaa', Nada (30 May 2016). "Is Ahmed Khaled Tawfik's Utopia coming true?". Daily News Egypt. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017.
  12. "Books by Ahmed Khaled Tawfik". Goodreads. Archived from the original on 26 May 2017.
  13. Obenson, Tambay (13 May 2015). "Film Adaptation of Bestselling Egyptian Apocalyptic Novel, 'Utopia,' in Development". Indie Wire. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017.
  14. Ahmed Khaled Towfik. Al-Singa (The Knife). Bloomsbury Academic; 25 October 2013. ISBN 978-99921-95-74-1.
  15. "Just Like Icarus مثل إيكاروس (Arabic) Paperback – 2015". Amazon.
  16. "Listopia Best of Ahmed Khaled Tawfiq". Goodreads. Archived from the original on 10 July 2017.
  17. "وفاة الروائي المصري أحمد خالد توفيق عن 56 عاماً". Al Ain. 3 April 2018. Archived from the original on 3 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  18. Saad, Mohammed (3 April 2018). "Obituary: Ahmed Khaled Tawfik, the godfather of Egyptian horror fiction". Ahram Online. Archived from the original on 4 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  19. "أسرة أحمد خالد توفيق تكشف تفاصيل الساعات الأخيرة". Youm7. 6 April 2018. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  20. "Ahmed Khaled Tawfik's 57th Birthday". Google. 10 June 2019.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.