Alaa Al Aswany: The Yacoubian Building

I have been reading The Yacoubian Building and I don't know whether it is a slice of real Cairo life, but it is certainly a slice of life where everything is for sale and has its price, and where muscle will prevail if scheming won't. The back cover says it "caused an immediate scandal due to its sexual frankness when it was first published in Egypt." It has been translated into nine languages and made into a film. How could it not be?

[Stewart]

I've split this post off from the Naguib Mahfouz thread, since it's a good enough start for a thread on The Yacoubian Building, which was longlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2008. (That, and the more threads with specific book titles, the better, to spread the site's wings amongst the search engines.)

I had a stab at The Yacoubian Building back in January, but set it aside quite quickly. Not because I wasn't enjoying it but because I really wanted to read Midaq Alley first and, having picked TYB up for a quick glance, found myself sitting down and reading more. But knowing I wanted to read the Mahfouz first forced me to set it aside. And then, er, I never got round to reading either.

[Max Cairnduff]

The Yacoubian Building is worth returning to Stewart, it's a marvellous novel which portrays the whole of Egyptian society but in a sprightly and entertaining manner - despite its frequently very dark storylines. I thought it both hugely enjoyable and very informative too.

[Bjorn]

I read this a few weeks ago, and I need to get around to translating my review. But I quite liked it; it's entertaining and very free-spirited, and while not a masterpiece, definitely worth a read.