I've heard this book praised by a wide swathe of readers and literary greats. I found it a bit slow to start and had less of the historical setting than I was hoping. As I read, both things improved and I think I'll read the next book to see what happens to thre family. There is, however a lot of misogyny - maybe historically accurate, maybe to comment on it - but be warned, there is sexual assault. 

It touches on the interior lives we lead - like how much are you willing to risk in a revolution - I just read an article about beginning activism and some of the decisions were in there too. The family and gender roles weren't radically questioned but maybe there were hints of change? At the end of Palace Walk, I'd say it makes a lot of sense to find he was influenced by Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Proust, etc. I thought of Anna Karenina while reading. I don't know if it lives up to the hype, but I'd put it in the same classics category as the Russian greats.

An article I read suggested reading his later, nationalistic work or these instead: Ahmed Naji, Iman Mersal, Mohamed Salmawy, Mansoura Ez-Eldin, Youssef Rakha.