Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1971 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
'An intriguing and highly charged novel!Based on a real-life building in downtown Cairo, Alaa Al Aswany's eponymous structure is a microcosm of modern Egyptian society!Al Aswany manages to capture the challenges facing much of the developing world!a superbly crafted feat of storytelling.' Tash Aw, Daily Telegraph 'A sharp, humorous novel.' Caroline Moorhead, in the Spectator 'Books of the Year' 'There are many stories here. The book is elaborate to bursting point, but always controlled, always whole. It is as juicy and satisfying as a shiny apple, its taste both strange and familiar, compassionate and bitter.' The Times 'In its affectionate portrait of feckless and flawed humanity, this is a rich and engaging book; in its analysis of the Islamist threat, it is a brave and indispensable one.' Daily Mail '"The Yacoubian Building" is the sort of dense neighbourhood novel which, though quite out of style when set in London or Paris, has been revived for the banlieue of downtown Cairo. With its parade of big-city characters, both ludicrous and tender, its warm heart and political indignation, it belongs to a literary tradition that goes back to the 1840s, to Eugene Sue and Charles Dickens.' Guardian 'Al Aswany is excellent on the bitterness young Egyptians feel towards a country where hard-won qualifications are worthless unless backed with money!an absorbing portrait of the struggle to survive in the Arab world's "best friend of the West".' Observer 'You don't get many writers like Alaa Al Aswany in the West any more. "The Yacoubian Building" paints a marvellous picture of modern Egypt with all its hypocrisies and fanaticism -- the gulf between rich and poor reminiscent of Dickensian London. Like the late Naguib Mahfouz, Alaa Al Aswany is a world writer, making Egyptian concerns into human ones and beautifully illuminating our always extraordinary and sometimes sad and baffling world.' The Times 'As chock--a--block with vivid characters, diverse storylines and moral and social indignation as a Victorian novel, it is as readbale as it is courageous' Peter Kemp, in the Sunday Times 'Books of the Year' 'This bestselling Arabic novel is an engaging series of stories, peopled with wonderful characters, that builds to a passionate climax.' Daily Telegraph 'A restless human drama and a resonant history lesson.' Sunday Times 'If only every encounter with the dentist were this enjoyable.' The Observer 'It's not hard to see why this Egyptian novel has created a furore in the Arab world!It's a fabulous, acutely observed story of human foibles, full of vivid scenes and extraordinary characters.' Mail on Sunday 'Each flawed character in this beautifully woven tale embodies a facet of modern Egypt, painting a picture of a country struggling with its principles and squandered promises, while seeking solace in Islam.' thelondonpaper

Sunday Telegraph
'...offers fascinating insights into a modern Muslim society.'

Sunday Times
'a restless human drama and a resonant history lesson.'

Customer Reviews

An interesting slice of Cairo life
Al Aswany populates the Yacoubian Building with a set of socially diverse characters and then relates a set of stories involving various residents. This device allows him to create a portrait of life in Cairo; the injustices suffered by the poor, the corruption of the elite, the political and economic realities of a repressed society and the way religion is used by different players to achieve their purposes.

The main characters are each introduced in some detail and because there are a large number of them, this means that lengthy digressions into the background of characters are still taking place halfway through the book. This tends to almost bog the narrative down in places. The other disadvantage of having so many central characters is that it makes it difficult to develop them in any real way. Though a number of them do emerge by the end of the book as having the necessary depth to make them interesting, others remain close to being stereotypes. The novel is an interesting slice of modern Cairo life and as such is a rewarding read, but it doesn't quite ever become totally engrossing.

From corruption to impassioned devotion, a cross section of humanity
Set in Cairo around the time of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, The Yacoubian Building covers the lives of the varied assortment of residents of the decaying Art Deco apartment block of the title. The residents range from the wealthy who live in the apartment building proper to the poor who inhabit the cabins on the roof. The wealthy include a self made business man who courts political success, a gay editor in chief of a French language newspaper passionately in love with a policeman, and an aging yet virile playboy. The residents on the roof include young devout Muslim who as a very able student who aspires to join the police, his attractive and initially naïve girlfriend who lives with her mother, and a shirt maker who eventually sets up business on the roof.
One or another of this varied collection of humanity engage in or suffer deceit, corruption, illegal dealings, domestic strife, rejection, fundamentalism, torture, and sexual desire, harassment and fulfilment. For some the outcome is frustration or even tragedy, for others unexpected joy and satisfaction. Altogether this provides a very colourful picture of life in Egypt during a difficult period. An engaging and revealing read.

A microcosm of life in a chaotic city.....
The Yacoubian Building is set in Cairo at the time of the first Gulf War. The building itself is a somewhat ramshackle apartment block which has seen better days. The diverse inhabitants reveal a microcosm of life in this chaotic city. In the apartments are shady businessmen and a corrupt politician (who has lodged his second wife there), a gay newspaper editor and an aging Lothario who keeps an office for the main purpose of seducing women. On the roof more people live in improvised shacks - the doorkeeper's family (including the son who becomes radicalised), a beautiful young woman who fights constantly with her employers to keep her virginity and a manipulative and scheming shirtmaker.

The narrative moves between all these characters (and more) as they all strive to find success and happiness within the corrupt social and political world in which they find themselves. It is written with great verve and imagination and all his characters come alive for the reader. Although much of the work is dark and depressing it is also sympathetic and humane.

However, I doubt very much that the Egyptian Tourist Office would recommend this book!