The yacoubian building by alaa alaswany 2006 not even past. Alaa al aswanys empathy and perceptive detail in this novel about the inhabitants of a cairo apartment building yield a credible evocation of. When egyptian author alaa al aswanys first novel the yacoubian building was published in 2002, overnight it became the bestselling novel in. Notionally set during the 1991 gulf war but about contemporary egypt, alaa al aswanys novel the yacoubian building follows the lives of several of the building s inhabitants. Alaa alaswany is the bestselling author of three previous books published in arabic. In the course of this unforgettable novel, these disparate lives converge, careening inexorably toward an explosive conclusion. The yacoubian building alaa al aswany we can read it for you. The apartment building exhibits the areas standard mixture of residential and commercial, its doorway plastered with signs and its first floor nothing but a row of typical and unremarkable small shops.
The yacoubian building by alaa al aswany goodreads. In their stead, a new breed of cairenes has moved in. Although set in the 1990s and published in 2002, alaa al aswanys novel the yacoubian building conveys the corruption and brutality that led to explosive revolutions in egypt from 2011. The author, a dentist by profession, had his first office in the yacoubian building in cairo. The yacoubian building is entertaining and does offer a good overview of contemporary cairo life, but with its many stories and its simplifications can feel more like it skims the surface than truly explores the many hidden depths even as it shares so many intimacies. I found the novel both well written and structured.
Feb 12, 2006 following the novel closely only notable omission is a reference to president mubarak, screenwriter waheed hamed interweaves multiple stories about the residents of the famous yacoubian building. The yacoubian building holds all that egypt was and has become over the 75 years since its namesake was built. Thus the underlying tension, which the novel boldly puts forth, is one of religious morality versus secularism, and one of tradition versus modernity. In the yacoubian building, alaa al aswany creates a memorable cast of characters who, taken as a whole, may represent the range of groups or classes in contemporary egypt. A novel and join the genius community of scholars to learn the meaning behind the words. Pdf the yacoubian building book by alaa al aswany free.
Dec 21, 20 this paper aims to analyze the societal threads of todays egypt through the stories of four intriguing women characters in the yacoubian building novel. Click download or read online button to get the yacoubian building book now. This 41page guide for the yacoubian building by alaa al aswany includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 2 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis. The yacoubian building by alaa al aswany books the. Alaa alaswanys novel the yacoubian building 2002, arabic tells the story of a group of people loosely bound together by. The yacoubian building omaret yakobean 2006 rotten tomatoes. The center of the book is the various stories of some of the people who live and work in the yacoubian building. Aug 27, 2006 the yacoubian building was a best seller in egypt, and this summer a feature film based on the novel opened there to popular and critical acclaim although members of the egyptian parliament. Buy the yacoubian building reprint by aswany, alaa al, davies, humphrey isbn. The yacoubian building is set in cairo around 1990, the time of the gulf war. The first edition of the novel was published in 2002, and was written by alaa al aswany.
Meditations on corruption, fundamentalism, prostitution, homosexuality, and drugs in. In the hot evenings of autumn 2002, cairos streetside cafes were packed with men, women and teenagers riffling intently. The yacoubian building download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. The yacoubian building distinguishes itself both as the most expensive egyptian film ever made and, despite its nearly threehour running time, one of the most watchable. Published in 2002 in its original arabic edition, the yacoubian building is a novel by egyptian author alaa al aswany. It follows the stories of several characters who live in the yacoubian building, a onceluxurious building that houses rich residents inside and. Regrettably, in july 2006 the egyptian parliament censored the film version of the novel. It tells the story of life in cairo through several interwoven narratives. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. Apr 27, 2006 based on the novel by the same title, the author dr.
The author presents the issues of political corruption, class conflict and the. The book focuses mainly on the residents of the yacoubian building, a oncechic but now rundown edifice that acts as a metaphor for cairos own deterioration. Themes in the yacoubian building by lancelot naipierkane on. The novel described the yacoubian building as one of the most luxurious and prestigious apartment blocks in. Indeed, the yacoubian building was a rare victory for freedom of expression in egypt. This is true of alaa al aswanys novel from 2002, the yacoubian building imarat yaqubyan. Constructed as a series of vignettes about characters whose fates will soon converge, a stylistic device highly popular in todays hollywood, egyptian author alaa al aswanys arabic bestseller the yacoubian buildingbrings to life a seedy and despicable cairo where only the corrupted and the corruptible can fare well. This 41page guide for the yacoubian building by alaa al aswany includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 2 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis the yacoubian building is a book written by an egyptian former dentist alaa al aswany. The yacoubian building, and the novels bestselling success, could be a barely disguised condemnation of society. Economics in the yacoubian building gender in the egyptian 90s apartment vs. Imarat yaqubyan is a novel by egyptian author alaaalaswany. 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, each character embodies a facet of modern egypt. Feb 22, 2005 yacoubian building houses uncomfortable truths the controversial, bestselling egyptian novel the yacoubian building describes a country that is corrupt, unfair and thuggish. Pdf the yacoubian building download full pdf book download.
Through their various exploits, we learn about businessmen, politics, closet homosexuality, students, entrepeneurs and families living hand to mouth. Sep 03, 2007 an international bestseller, the yacoubian building is a mesmerising and controversial novel that is at once an impasssioned celebration and a ruthless dissection of a society dominated by bribery and corruption. The yacoubian building, an immense scandal when first published because of its sexual frankness, has topped bestseller lists for two years and is now a film with a hollywoodsize budget. But the war is not the focus of the book, it is pretty much background. Religion homosexuality o abduh is a person that also sacrifices his dignity in order to support his family but immerses himself into a homosexual relationship with hatim, a newspaper owner, in order to support his family that lives in upper egypt.
Whether in fact, or merely in fiction, old storerooms on the roof of the building are rented in the novel to poor immigrants from the villages, so that. The yacoubian building by alaa al aswany takes place in cairo in the 1990s during the first gulf war when iraq invaded kuwait and the u. The yacoubian building is a novel about modernday cairo, using the residents of the building as a broad crosssection of egyptian society. As a refresher, a brief summary of characters and ke.
The main characters of this fiction, northern africa story are. Egyptian sexuality in the 90s homosexuality was a taboo prostitution was made legal in late 18s up to early 19s. Free download or read online the yacoubian building pdf epub book. It has been reported to be the highestbudgeted fil. The yacoubian building the yacoubian building themes. Mar 06, 2016 but reading the novel in 2016 could lead to another conclusion. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 256 pages and is available in paperback format. With adel emam, nour elsherif, youssra, essad youniss. The yacoubian building by alaa al aswany, humphrey t. The novel clearly aims to give you a broad vision of the contradictions and peculiarities of life as a. It has been reported to be the highestbudgeted film in the history of egyptian cinema. Lets hope humphrey daviess fine translation helps win the wider audience both the novel and the film deserve. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want.
The book was made into a film of the same name in 2006 and into a tv series in 2007. The yacoubian building was the bestselling arabic novel for 2002 and 2003, and was voted best novel for 2003 by listeners to egypts middle east broadcasting service. A feminist perspective of egypts yacoubian building by livia. Tragicomic, passionate, shockingly frank in its sexuality, and brimming with an extraordinary, embracing human compassion, the yacoubian building is a literary achievement of the first order. Alaa alaswanys novel the yacoubian building 2002, arabic tells the story of a group of people loosely bound together by dint of living in the same crumbling building a real place in downtown cairo. The yacoubian building is the sort of dense neighbourhood novel which, though quite out of style when set in london or paris, has been revived for the banlieue of downtown cairo. Death dominates the last section of the novel, and crucially none of the novels key characters arrives at a happy ending or even contentedness. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The yacoubian building once grand, but now dilapidated stands on one of cairos main boulevards. Alaa elaswany, who is a dentist, does not shy away from weaving sordid tales of political corruption, sexuality and torture in his story. The edition used in this guide was translated by humphrey davies.
The yacoubian building is an egyptian film based on the novel of the same title by author 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. The yacoubian building by alaa al aswany 9789774248627. Nestled along downtown cairos busy talat haarb street, the yacoubian building is easy to miss. Using the title building as his center aswany portrays a diverse group of contemporary cairenes to demonstrate the experience of living in the world of egypt today. Prostitutes were given permits and had to be checked for disease every week. The yacoubian building is the sort of dense neighbourhood novel which, though quite out of style when set in london or. This 57page guide for the yacoubian building by alaa al aswany includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 2 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis. Based on the novel by the same title, the author dr. The film expresses all these elements through the lives of those who reside in the yacoubian building, representing segments within the egyptian society.
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