Alaa Al Aswany: The Yacoubian Building

[Dabbler]

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.

[Bjorn]

The Interview: Alaa al Aswany | Culture | The Observer

I'm against presenting literature on an ethnic basis. I am pushed, little by little, to be an Arab writer, but I prefer to think of myself as part of the republic of literature. The 'now' topics are not so important. The human topics are the important ones; that's why we read Dostoevsky. I am very interested in the Taliban, in knowing how stupid they are. But I'm not going to learn much from a terrible 700-page novel about them. I might as well go to the internet and type in 'Taliban'. To paraphrase [Gabriel] Garc?a M?rquez, a good subject does not make a good novel, but a good novel makes any subject seem interesting.

[matt.todd]

I was actually surprised at how much I did enjoy this novel. I was certainly expecting a kind of 'ethnic literature' kind of thing, but it wasn't that at all. While Egyptian culture is central to the novel, it never seems to take over the characters, who are pretty universal.

More thoughts here.

[bpop]

I know the last post on this thread is rather old, but I just found it. Sorry.

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.

Stewart, did you ever get back to The Yacoubian Building? I read it last summer, immediately after Midaq Alley, and I think that might have been a mistake. While I enjoyed Al Aswany's voice in particular, as I read I kept referring back to Mahfouz' characters and even his plot (both of which I found richer and more interesting). While Al Aswany clearly addresses more contemporary sensibilities, I couldn't shake the feeling that the situation was derivative.

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.

Bjorn, did you ever translate your review? I couldn?t find it on your Reading List. Thanks for the very instructive quote by Al Aswany and the link, by the way. (In fact, there are several interesting issues raised in this thread- but I think I should start a new one since my responses do not relate directly to The Yacoubian Building.)

For those interested in Al Aswany and/or The Yacoubian Building, both are the subject of the most recent interview in BBC's World Book Club (link here). I haven't read Chicago yet, but it is waay down on my "to read" list.

[Clarissa]

I bought this but have not got round to reading it yet. I did start but then, like Stewart, put it aside for something else. I did see the film on TV (Egyptian made) and it put me off the book. Has anyone read and enjoyed it?

To compare Al Aswany to Mahfouz seems unfair to the former. Mahfouz was extraordinary. It is not because they are both Egptian that we can compare them. Katie Fforde, a bestselling lightweight, compared to Doris Lessing anyone? The age difference would be about the same...

Mahfouz was a worthy Nobel laureate and thanks to his Nobel Lit Prize I discovered a remarkable writer and a whole new world.

[bpop]

I agree the comparison is unfair, which is why I think it was unfortunate that I read Midaq Alley first. I did enjoy reading The Yacoubian Building, I just feel like I couldn't approach Al Aswany with a clean slate with Mahfouz still ringing in my ears.

I didn't know TYB was made into a movie. Judging by your reaction, Clarissa, I'm guessing it wasn't very good.

[Clarissa]

TYB - the film. The Egyptians have such a different style of filmmaking. Their films always seem a little simplistic to me with the exception of Youssef Chahine.

Youssef Chahine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[duygutekgul]

Oh this novel made me so angry...

"I'm against presenting literature on an ethnic basis. I am pushed, little by little, to be an Arab writer, but I prefer to think of myself as part of the republic of literature."

First of all, he's a dentist. Not that dentists can't write good novels, but I'd think twice before bragging about myself after this badly-constructed novel.

For example, where does Busayna's mother disappear in the second half of the novel? Why do we get so much detail about Abaskharon in the beginning, and lose him in the end, and how does Hagg Azzam walk into the novel? The level of detailing is far from being balanced, and the points-of-view are all muddled up. The transitions are abrupt, and some characters, like Dawlat and Malak, are so one-dimensional that I believe they didn't even have to be introduced at all.

I don't think he can be said to give us "a portrayal of Egypt" either, because what he depicts is simply not realistic. To start with, how come everyone living in an apartment building has some business to do with one another, and more importantly, I don't believe everyone in a given society can be doing at least one condemnable thing. (The only normal character in the novel is Christine, who happens to be French.) Saying that it's all Abd el Nasser's fault doesn't give you the excuse to portray everyone as "cowards, opportunists, and hypocrites" - or losers, unable to give any direction to their lives. It all looks fishy to me, whose approval is he trying to get?

I can't see anything enjoyable in this novel, moreover, I'm disgusted by passages that display ignorance and arrogance:

"Homosexuals, it is said, excel in professions that depend on contact with other people, such as public relations, acting, brokering, and the law. Their success in these fields is attributable to their lack of that sense of shame that costs other opportunities, while their sexual lives, filled as they are with diverse and unusual encounters, give them deeper insight into human nature and make them more capable of influencing others. Homosexuals also excel in professions associated with taste and beauty, such as interior decoration and clothing design; it is well known that the most famous clothes designers in the world are homosexuals, perhaps because their dual sexual nature enables them to design women's clothes that are attractive to men and vice versa."

[saliotthomas]

I just finished it and came with some reserves, but what Duygutekgul wrote make me want to defend the novel.

First of all, he's a dentist. Not that dentists can't write good novels, but I'd think twice before bragging about myself after this badly-constructed novel.

That is about one of the dummest argument i ever read, first you don't say dentiste can't write, but then you do?
And i think it was very well constructed, with some omission ok, but authors doesn't have the obligation of explaining or ending every sub story they start.

(If i was to be honest though Ho yua was a dentist too and i didn't like his book much, but i would not throw his dentistry at him as a first punch)

........, and some characters, like Dawlat and Malak, are so one-dimensional that I believe they didn't even have to be introduced at all.

I don't think he can be said to give us "a portrayal of Egypt" either, because what he depicts is simply not realistic. To start with, how come everyone living in an apartment building has some business to do with one another, and more importantly, I don't believe everyone in a given society can be doing at least one condemnable thing. (The only normal character in the novel is Christine, who happens to be French.) Saying that it's all Abd el Nasser's fault doesn't give you the excuse to portray everyone as "cowards, opportunists, and hypocrites" - or losers, unable to give any direction to their lives. It all looks fishy to me, whose approval is he trying to get?

This proove that who know nothing about Arabian culture or Egytpe.
I live in Morroco and clearly, everybody know most of the private life of others.
It's like a national sport.
And i know a guy just like Malak.
People live together, they are nosy, they know what you eat, how much you earn, who you sleep with...you'd have to be a trainned ninja to avoid their scrutiny

I don't believe everyone in a given society can be doing at least one condemnable thing

This sentence is puzzling me, you mean more than one, or none.
Most people think they do nothing condemnable, even the worst can moraly justify to themselves most of what they do.

And i'm not surprised you find the French woman the only "morale" charactere because she is the only one you can relate too. Why Soad shoud be condamnable for exemple? and to think about it, why condamne most of the characteres ( appart from the obvious fuckers), they are dealt cards and try to wiggle their way out of it.
I do beleive in shades of grey, and that is where those poeple live.

You just read the novel has if it was your next door neightbourgs, and with this angle, most of what happen is terribly wrong. It is a different culture, and i nearly would say a different time. I sometime think that what i witness here( Morroco) could be assiciated to France of the 50's and some of it 19 century to Middle ages.
And saying that , i won't say it's wrong, it's just different.
Modernity also has it's drawback.


I try to think about what i found unpleasant in The yacubian building and i think it comes from Zaki's charactere, the only one who get out clear of the mess, with a young lovely wife who loves him to bout.
I think their is a lot of Alaa el Aswany in him and is indulgence for the guy felt suspicious. Like while Soad hate the sexual relation the older man Assam whom she find revulsive, like a lizzard, Boussainia love the smell of Zaki ( also an old man) and is in impressed by is sexual energy ( your right !).
So while reading those two stories in parralle, i had trouble not find it a bit fishy.

The rest of the book is excellent however, if a bit fatalistic.

[littératuresansfrontières]

I don't think he can be said to give us "a portrayal of Egypt" either, because what he depicts is simply not realistic. To start with, how come everyone living in an apartment building has some business to do with one another,

The novel certainly gives a portrayal of a part of Egypt. Everyone (or almost) living in an apartment building can certainly "have to do" with everyone else. It is not like that everywhere in Egypt or the Arab World but it is very common and very realistic!! That I can affirm.

Also, I heard several interviews with Al-Asswany. I didn't feel that he is an arrogant guy. But, both ways, this does not have anything to do with his writing, does it?

That said, I am NOT a big fan of this novel either. I would not compare it to Mahfouz because this would be unfair to Al-Asswany. Mahfouz as it was said earlier is truly extraordinary. However, I read several other (contemporary) Egyptian writers that published more accomplished works where the characters are more real and the story less simplistic (especially in its fatalist end).

I had a problem with the end of the novel (sorry for spoiling it for those who would like to read it). I really disliked the "punishment" the homosexual guy gets (I forgot his name) and I found that Bossayna ending up marrying Zaki is like saying: all her problems can be solved by her marrying a pre-Nasser era man... This symbolism goes too far and I didn't like it.

[Daniel del Real]

The novel certainly gives a portrayal of a part of Egypt. Everyone (or almost) living in an apartment building can certainly "have to do" with everyone else. It is not like that everywhere in Egypt or the Arab World but it is very common and very realistic!! That I can affirm.

Also, I heard several interviews with Al-Asswany. I didn't feel that he is an arrogant guy. But, both ways, this does not have anything to do with his writing, does it?

That said, I am NOT a big fan of this novel either. I would not compare it to Mahfouz because this would be unfair to Al-Asswany. Mahfouz as it was said earlier is truly extraordinary. However, I read several other (contemporary) Egyptian writers that published more accomplished works where the characters are more real and the story less simplistic (especially in its fatalist end).

I had a problem with the end of the novel (sorry for spoiling it for those who would like to read it). I really disliked the "punishment" the homosexual guy gets (I forgot his name) and I found that Bossayna ending up marrying Zaki is like saying: all her problems can be solved by her marrying a pre-Nasser era man... This symbolism goes too far and I didn't like it.

By the way you wrote these lines I assume you're Egyptian or at least you live or have lived in Egypt. Talking about othe Egyptian writers that you liked better than Al Aswany here's a question I hope you can answer:
What can you tell me about a young writer named Khaled Al Khamissi? Apparently he's got a very famous novel, Taxi, that has been selling very well all over the world, specially in Egypt.
This guy is going to be present in the Book Fair of my City in early December and I want to know more about him.

[littératuresansfrontières]

By the way you wrote these lines I assume you're Egyptian or at least you live or have lived in Egypt. Talking about othe Egyptian writers that you liked better than Al Aswany here's a question I hope you can answer:
What can you tell me about a young writer named Khaled Al Khamissi? Apparently he's got a very famous novel, Taxi, that has been selling very well all over the world, specially in Egypt.
This guy is going to be present in the Book Fair of my City in early December and I want to know more about him.

I am not Egyptian and I have not lived in Egypt. However, I have lived in a nearby country (Lebanon which is different from Egypt in some aspects, yet very similar to Egypt in others), I have visited Egypt and I have many Egyptian friends (with whom I discussed the novel). Does this allow me to affirm things about the culture?

Now concerning Taxi, I have not read it but it is on my reading list. An Egyptian friend told me that I will read it in a couple of hours since it is light and funny.

If you read it, let me know what you think.

[accidie]

Just noticed this thread and must say I'm surprised by the praise this book has got. It was readable--that's the only praise I could give it. Seemed to me to be just a soap opera that happened to be set in Cairo: no depth or richness at all, and the sort of book you'd expect Oprah Winfrey to recommend. A week after I'd read it I was unable to remember much of anything about it.