Alaa Al Aswany
Paperback | Pages: 256 pages Rating: 3.68 | 17443 Users | 1444 Reviews
Declare Books Toward The Yacoubian Building
| Original Title: | عمارة يعقوبيان |
| ISBN: | 0060878134 (ISBN13: 9780060878139) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Setting: | Egypt Cairo(Egypt) |
| Literary Awards: | Independent Foreign Fiction Prize Nominee for Longlist (2008), Premio Grinzane Cavour Nominee for Narrativa Straniera (2007) |
Narration During Books The Yacoubian Building
This controversial bestselling novel in the Arab world reveals the political corruption, sexual repression, religious extremism, and modern hopes of Egypt today. All manner of flawed and fragile humanity reside in the Yacoubian Building, a once-elegant temple of Art Deco splendor now slowly decaying in the smog and bustle of downtown Cairo: a fading aristocrat and self-proclaimed "scientist of women"; a sultry, voluptuous siren; a devout young student, feeling the irresistible pull toward fundamentalism; a newspaper editor helplessly in love with a policeman; a corrupt and corpulent politician, twisting the Koran to justify his desires. These disparate lives careen toward an explosive conclusion in Alaa Al Aswany's remarkable international bestseller. Teeming with frank sexuality and heartfelt compassion, this book is an important window on to the experience of loss and love in the Arab world.Specify Of Books The Yacoubian Building
| Title | : | The Yacoubian Building |
| Author | : | Alaa Al Aswany |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 256 pages |
| Published | : | August 1st 2006 by Harper Perennial (first published 2002) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Northern Africa. Egypt. Novels. Cultural. Africa |
Rating Of Books The Yacoubian Building
Ratings: 3.68 From 17443 Users | 1444 ReviewsJudgment Of Books The Yacoubian Building
Finally♥Within this relatively small community Al Aswany tells us much about life in Egypt. Among the things we discover are the sad narrowness of poor Egyptian women's choices, the courage required of each small life, the meanness and cruelty required of every big life and the simple longing for warmth and basic dignities shared by every individual. Al Aswany recounts the various forms that its frustration can take; compassionately. Everyday poetry underpins tragic and comic situations alike. The prose
Egypt is in the news today for all the wrong reasons. But when I witness the turmoil there, I perceive a silver lining: this is the birth pain of a true democracy.I have had a lifelong love affair with Egypt, ever since I studied about pharaohs and the pyramids and hieroglyphics in middle school. I have seen the similarity with India, the paradox of being immensely rich culturally and dirt poor monetarily. Visiting the country had been my secret dream, which was realised three years ago.I read
It's Cairo, and nearby the US is launching it's invasion into Kuwait.The author was a dentist and he fills his book with the lives of the occupants of the Yacoubian Building. The poor live on the roof, the rich in once luxury apartments that are now showing signs of wear and tear. The author drills into the lives, extracting all of the sins of humanity. He also uses one character to talk about the rise of Islamic supporters who wish to rid the country of all of it's corruption and Western ways.
My book club selected this book. It's an interesting look at modern-day Egyptian culture / society. The confusing case of characters made it difficult for me to read, though.
Lets put it this way: I was not at all surprised to learn that the author is a dentist.
I read this novel, received as a Christmas gift, shortly after returning from a business trip in the Mideast. I was moved by its poignant sense of perspective, the elegant beauty of both the writing and the translation and the heart-wrenching grief that I found within its modest number of pages. The words leapt off every page as the tragedies emerged of characters whose chief links among each other had to do with their various and sundry connections to their dwelling place, an old building in
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