Instruct: Classify the given review as either positive or negative.
Query: Confusing Stream-of-Consciousness

I have read several of Mahfouz's books, and in my opinion, this is NOT one of his best. I do not enjoy stream-of-consciousness writing. We read this book in our bookclub, and several of us found his writing style very confusing, necessitating continual re-reading to find out who is talking, and about whom, and to whom. Nevertheless, the book is full of psychological implications, as it is four character's viewpoints about the same people and incidents. This is Mahfouz at his worst, and most confusing. If you want to read Mahfouz at his BEST, read instead The Cairo Trilogy. The first book in that trilogy is one of the best books I have ever read, and that one is not written in the stream-of-consciousness style.