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Original Essays | December 12, 2009

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The Yacoubian Building

by Alaa Al Aswany

The Yacoubian Building Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

The Yacoubian Building holds all that Egypt was and has become over the 75 years since its namesake was built on one of downtown Cairo's main boulevards. From the pious son of the building's doorkeeper and the raucous, impoverished squatters on its roof, via the tattered aristocrat and the gay intellectual in its apartments, to the ruthless businessman whose stores occupy its ground floor, each sharply etched character embodies a facet of modern Egypt — where political corruption, ill-gotten wealth, and religious hypocrisy are natural allies, where the arrogance and defensiveness of the powerful find expression in the exploitation of the weak, where youthful idealism can turn quickly to extremism, and where an older, less violent vision of society may yet prevail. Alaa Al Aswany's novel caused an unprecedented stir when it was first published in 2002 and has remained the world's best selling novel in the Arabic language since.

About the Author

Alaa Al Aswany was born in 1957. A dentist, whose first office was in the Yacoubian Building, Al Aswany has written prolifically for Egyptian newspapers across the political spectrum on literature, politics, and social issues.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
m_a_gmerlin, August 6, 2007 (view all comments by m_a_gmerlin)
Hello,
I start with a favourite sentence about books and reading..reading is an intelligent way to loose your time and there isnt a substitute for reading.. I didnt read this book yet - Yacoubian Bilding by Alaa El Aswany, coze i didnt find it. I read all references about the novel and about the movie made after this novel and im so so interested to have and read it. This novel was recommanded to me by a very special person i met from Egypt and i trust in his cultural taste. I would want push a signal about all means arabic culture, books, movies, wich is not good known by ppls from other cultures. Much more publicity about that could be usefull for the both parts. English translations about that could be more usefull too. I would enjoy very much to read this novel. And thx for this occasion to exprime my opinion here about this sujbect. All the best for ppls who come on this site ;/
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Bethylene, December 1, 2006 (view all comments by Bethylene)
The Yacoubian Building is a rich, sensitive picture of life in modern Egypt seen through the eyes of the diverse residents of the Yacoubian Building in Cairo.
Though it is already a bestseller in Egypt, Western readers will discover in The Yacoubian Building the universal humanity in a country that sometimes seems so alien.
This book changed me, as it will all of its readers. I recommend it to all adults and mature teenagers with strong stomachs and open minds.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9789774248627
Translator:
Davies, Humphrey
Publisher:
American University in Cairo Press
Translator:
Davies, Humphrey
Author:
Aswany, Alaa Al
Author:
Al Aswany, Alaa
Subject:
Literary
Publication Date:
March 2005
Binding:
Hardcover
Language:
English
Pages:
272
Dimensions:
9.34x6.60x.91 in. 1.39 lbs.

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