The Yacoubian Building

Posted on 12 October 2018 by Alaa Al Aswany

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. Read The Yacoubian Building By Alaa Al Aswany – kino-fada.fr 2002 2003 , 2002 2003 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2006 Dispiriting I nearly tossed this into the nearest patch of long grass, as I got so thoroughly sick of the descriptions of boobs and buttocks, so impatient with the fact that ALL the women fell into only two categories young and therefore luscious and desirable, or old, and therefore no longer desirable Worst of all is old and skinny and yes, it says a LOT about me that I m particularly sensitive to this because old and skinny means you turn into a screeching termagant Somebody better wa Dispiriting I nearly tossed this into the nearest patch of long grass, as I got so thoroughly sick of the descriptions of boobs and buttocks, so impatient with the fact that ALL the women fell into only two categories young and therefore luscious and desirable, or old, and therefore no longer desirable Worst of all is old and skinny and yes, it says a LOT about me that I m particularly sensitive to this because old and skinny means you turn into a screeching termagant Somebody better warn my husband what do you mean too late HOW DARE YOU, I LL HAVE YOUR GUTS FOR GARTERS. Old and chunky on the other hand means you re at least allowed to be motherly, sorry, grandmotherly Even towards men who are older than you So that puts me on a strict regime of chocolate, ice cream, cream cake and biscuits, and NO S..., , Knjiga je divna, ako jos i odgledate egipatski film snimljen po istoimenom romanu onda je to pun pogodak Pravo osvezenjeNarrators tell stories protagonists tell them characters in novels do, too But in The Yacoubian Building, an apartment complex on a downtown street tells the story of a whole nation This ten story structure, I found, has a lot to say.The building doesn t talk, of course, but it shelters the many people whose lives the book recounts Brought together only by their place of residence, these very different people are, by the end, brought together in a second way, by the common experience of lif Narrators tell stories protagonists tell them characters in novels do, too But in The Yacoubian ... .I ve read this book twice now Once before coming to Egypt and again this summer, having lived in Egypt for two years.The first time I read it, I truly believed that the situations that happened within it were exaggerated for artistic license Now It s all true No artistic license needed Just straight forward truth I see so many of these things happening, and manybesides.Al Aswany s depiction of Egyptian life, his clever way of writing about Egypt s elite and corrupt, making sure reade I ve read this book twice now Once before coming to Egypt and again this summer, having lived in Egypt for two years.The first time I read it, I truly believed that the situations that happened within it were exaggerated for artistic license Now It s all true No artistic license needed Just straight forward truth I see so many of these things happening, and manybesides.Al Aswany s depiction of Egyptian life, his clever way of writing about Egypt s elite and corrupt, making sure readers in the know know who he is on about, without actually naming names, is superb As I read page after page, I recognised the some of the unnamed, and the named, areas, the hang ...

English
12 October 2018

Alaa Al Aswany