Middle East/North African Lit discussion

This is the thread for our June discussion of The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany, translated by Humphrey Davies.





































I've set up a single thread, but propose that we use spoilers as appropriate for the first two weeks of the discussion, e.g., until 15June. If members intending to participate in this read prefer another approach, let me know.

I understand that there are two adaptations of the novel, first published in 2002: a movie released in 2006 and a tv series released in 2007.

Has anyone read Yacoubian Building already? Did you enjoy it? Share a link to your review if you wrote one and would like to share it.
Have you seen the movie or tv series and do you recommend them?
Let us know if you plan to join the discussion.

To frame our read, here is the start of one of my favorite reviews, written by Nana Asfour for Words Without Borders, and linked below.

"Constructed as a series of vignettes about characters whose fates will soon converge, a stylistic device highly popular in today's Hollywood, Egyptian author Alaa Al Aswany's Arabic best-seller The Yacoubian Building brings to life a seedy and despicable Cairo where only the corrupted and the corruptible can fare well. The book focuses mainly on the residents of the Yacoubian building, a once-chic but now rundown edifice that acts as a metaphor for Cairo's own deterioration. Gone are the crème de la crème of Egyptian society who lived in the building during the city's heydays of the thirties and forties. In their stead, a new breed of Cairenes has moved in. All in all, they constitute a loathsome bunch: conniving, egotistic, coarse, violent and dejected..."

https://www.wordswithoutborders.org/b...

Alaa Al Aswany

This March 19, 2019 article from The Guardian on military prosecutors suing Al Aswany for “insulting the president, the armed forces and judicial institutions” presents biographical highlights, as well, on the world's most celebrated dentist.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...

A 10 November 2018 interview published in the Middle East Monitor, after the release of his latest novel, I Ran To The Nile.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/201...

and a 9 minute YouTube video on Al Aswany (Man of Letters and Revolution by Abdalla Hassan) that includes an interview of Al Aswany discussing the Tahrir Square protests and shows off Cairo, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM0Y0...

Finally, a mesmerizing 40-minute video interview in which Al Aswany discusses "his thoughts on writing about sex, his close relationship to his novel characters and the impact of literature on history."

https://channel.louisiana.dk/video/al...

Reviews and more:

From 2006, The NYTimes, by Lorraine Adams (spoiler alert)

https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/27/bo...

From 2007. the Independent, by Alev Adil.

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-en...

from a 2016 edition of the Cairo Review of Global Affairs:

https://www.thecairoreview.com/tahrir...

and the below-linked blog is about the Yacoubian Building - the apartment building in downtown Cairo in 1934, built by an Italian firm for an Armenian millionaire --one of the largest and most luxurious buildings of its day. The photos are superb.

https://bidoun.org/articles/the-yacou...

Who is planning to join the discussion? I ask because I'm leading 3 book discussions this month and, while I'm quite excited about this read, if those planning to read with me are thinking of reading the book later this month vs. immediately, I may put this aside for a few days in order to drive the other discussions, and pick this back up when others are joining so we're reading somewhat contemporaneously.

So - if you plan to join - please share your anticipated timing in this thread. Thank you!

I've got too much on my plate right now, Carol. So I won't be able to join this time around. Sorry.

Hi Carol,
Thanks for asking. I won’t be joining this discussion. My Plate is full.

Thanks, Nan and Tamara, for the updates!

Thank you Carol for your effort :)
I read it more than ten years ago , I watched the movie but not the tv series adaption . Here is the link to our first discussion in 2011

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I do not think I will be able to re-read it but I will do my best to participate in the discussion .

Niledaughter wrote: "Thank you Carol for your effort :)
I read it more than ten years ago , I watched the movie but not the tv series adaption . Here is the link to our first discussion in 2011

https://www.goodreads.c..."

Thanks!

It would also be great to hear from one of the 5 members who, along with me, voted for this novel - just for my planning purposes. Have your plans changed and if they haven't, when do you anticipate starting your read?

Carol wrote: "It would also be great to hear from one of the 5 members who, along with me, voted for this novel - just for my planning purposes...."

Carol -- this is one of those boards on which I seldom participate, but try to note when I raise my head above whatever I am immersed at the moment. I did not vote in the poll. I, however, read The Yacoubian Building back in 2015. My review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

My face-to-face book club expressed interest back then, but never chose it. Just now I skimmed down some of the Goodreads reviews and understand why it has sort of stayed with me. Whenever you manage to get a discussion going, I will try to come back -- perhaps even find/make the time to read again. Depending, I might suggest it again to my f2f group.

I thank you for all the links you have posted. I will peruse them over the days ahead, probably not all in one chunk.

Here is a link to links of the discussion of the book on the 21st Century board in 2015 (look down to August):

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Lily wrote: "Carol wrote: "It would also be great to hear from one of the 5 members who, along with me, voted for this novel - just for my planning purposes...."

Carol -- this is one of those boards on which I..."

Great to hear that it stayed with you, Lily!

Carol wrote: "Great to hear that it stayed with you, Lily! ..."

I think if I read it again, I'll create a set of notes to identify each character. Keeping track of the interweaving plots would probably be far easier. (I seldom use that trick which many readers do use, including a friend of mine, who uses it excessively to my way of reading! But, she may have a point!)

Lily wrote: "Carol wrote: "Great to hear that it stayed with you, Lily! ..."

I think if I read it again, I'll create a set of notes to identify each character. Keeping track of the interweaving plots would pro..."

I’ll take your suggestion, although I agree, I wouldn’t ordinarily slow down my reading to create a second artifact or set of notes.

Until you have read a fair piece of the novel and let the characters reveal themselves, I wouldn't suggest taking advantage of this, but if you don't make notes and decide later you would like a character list, Caroline here can give you a short-cut. As the discussion that follows shows, we might each choose some different characteristics/actions to describe a character, which seems to me part of the depth of what Al Aswany has done here:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Short descriptions of twelve characters plus the building itself.

(Reading again through the notes on that board, I see a note that suggests the book itself may have a character list. I'd still try to create one that helped me remember.)

Lily wrote: "Until you have read a fair piece of the novel and let the characters reveal themselves, I wouldn't suggest taking advantage of this, but if you don't make notes and decide later you would like a ch..."

Most excellent! Thanks again, Lily.

I would like to thank you Carole so much for your effort ! :D
I wished to see more activity here from members who voted to read it , but it happens this way sometimes :(

By the way , anyone watched the movie ?