"Morning and Evening Talk" remains the most famous, beloved, and closest to the hearts of the audience in the early third millennium. It was first introduced to people in 2001, based on a novel of the same name by the great writer Naguib Mahfouz, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature after publishing this novel a year earlier.

The novel is characterized by its portrayal of different generations from the same origin, a style that the author is known for, as seen in Naguib Mahfouz's famous trilogy that narrates the stories of three different generations from a single family. The novel's events span from the beginning of the French campaign in Egypt, passing through the Orabi Revolution and the 1919 Revolution, to the era of former President Mohamed Anwar Sadat, when the novel was written.

The series, consisting of 28 episodes, showed the different generations' characters affected by the political events and social developments surrounding them. It demonstrated how people were called by their professions, such as the boatman and the Tarbouche wearer, and linked the belief in the unseen and the blessings of visiting the Prophet's family, which was widespread during that period, to the madness of Jalila's character, brilliantly and professionally portrayed by actress Abla Kamel.

It presented one of the most famous love stories between Hoda Hanem, played by actress Laila Elwi, and Atta the boatman, played by actor Ahmed Khalil, along with a textbook friendship, showing the true meaning of friendship between Jalila and Naima, played by actress Dalal Abdel Aziz, and the poor Egyptian youth who is given an opportunity by life to jump to a higher social status than his family and ends up longing for his original home, played by star Khaled El Nabawy.

In a blend of life and death, joy and sorrow, beginnings and endings, between morning and evening, in a beautiful symphony, the novel Morning and Evening Talk comes to life.

I couldn't think of any criticism of the novel or the television adaptation that successfully and beautifully presented the novel, except for my grandmother's criticism and her expression of her dislike for this television work, justifying it as a gloomy series that suffocates and exhausts the soul with its constant weeping and wailing throughout its episodes. This is due to the numerous deaths, with at least one or two funeral scenes in each episode involving characters close to the hearts, increasing the pain.

Despite the author's and director's efforts to blend life and death, with every funeral accompanied by the birth of a new child or a wedding celebration, they couldn't balance the sorrow and joy, as sadness prevailed in most scenes. In the scene of Sheikh Muawiya's death, played by actor Mahmoud El Gendy, there was a wedding, the birth of two children, and yet sadness overshadowed the scene.

The arrival of joy after sorrow does not alleviate its pain, while sadness ends any remnants of prior happiness. Consequently, the series became gloomy and dark due to the abundance of deaths, even if there were more births. However, this does not diminish the work's value, as the problem lies within us; our fear of happiness and anticipation of sorrow are reflected in our perception like a mirror.

There is no mistake in the work or our judgment, as this perception is a result of the impact of the political events and social developments surrounding us, just like the characters in the series. 

Those accustomed to worry think that tranquility is a trap.