The Thief and the Dogs (Arabic: اللص والكلاب; al-liṣ wal-kilāb) is one of the Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz's most celebrated works.
Central to the making of Said Mahran is also Ra'uf 'Ilwan, his one-time criminal mentor, who used the same revolutionist rhetoric, but now, being a respected journalist and businessman, is in seeming opposition to Said, whose outlook hasn't changed.
These perceived betrayals throw the protagonist into the utmost confusion and his initial calculation in revenge becomes ever more a wild flailing against the whole world.
Only Nur, a prostitute, and Tarzan, a café-owner, provide Said with any aid and support from the world at large which is closing in on him, yet in time even they cannot help him.
Heavily dependent on imagery, the thief, Said, is depicted as a tragic hero being Rady chased down by those he perceives as dogs.