The Yacoubian Building (Advanced Reader's Copy)
2 journalers for this copy...
From amazon.com
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.
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This was a difficult book to get into and understand. I'm sure it's just a cultural difference. I did finally get into it and care about a few characters (Busyana & Zaki) (Abduh, his wife and what happened with their son) - but while the radical Islamist movement was disturbing, I was glad to have most of it written from one charachters point of view.
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This was a difficult book to get into and understand. I'm sure it's just a cultural difference. I did finally get into it and care about a few characters (Busyana & Zaki) (Abduh, his wife and what happened with their son) - but while the radical Islamist movement was disturbing, I was glad to have most of it written from one charachters point of view.
Journal Entry 2 by vzfamily at Postal Release in -- Mail or by hand-rings, RABCK, meetings, Ohio USA on Friday, July 7, 2006
Released 17 yrs ago (7/7/2006 UTC) at Postal Release in -- Mail or by hand-rings, RABCK, meetings, Ohio USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES:
Sending to mojosmom - who sent me postage for the book! HAPPY READING!
Sending to mojosmom - who sent me postage for the book! HAPPY READING!
A few weeks ago, I heard a story on NPR's All Things Considered about the première of the film made from this book. I thought, "That sounds like an interesting book. I wonder if it's been translated into English."
Lo and behold! Just a couple of days later, vzfamily posted on Book Wish List forum offering a trade, and then agreed to accept postage for it.
Just another example of the delightful serendipity that is Bookcrossing.
This is going on the top of the TBR pile.
Lo and behold! Just a couple of days later, vzfamily posted on Book Wish List forum offering a trade, and then agreed to accept postage for it.
Just another example of the delightful serendipity that is Bookcrossing.
This is going on the top of the TBR pile.
A stunning book. Al Aswany describes the lives of people who live in, or are connected to, the Yacoubian Building, an Art Deco edifice in modern Cairo. In it, he deals with many issues facing Egypt today, from political corruption and the conflict between modernization and fundamentalist Islam, to the treatment of women and sexual minorities.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
