About this title: 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 ...
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Edition: 12th Printing
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Canada, Limited, Scarborough, ON, Canada
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780060878139ISBN:0060878134
Description: Good. No Dust Jacket as Issued. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Book shows moderate wear/ spine tight, pages clean/ covers show moderate edge wear. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 8/1/2006
ISBN-13:9780060878139ISBN:0060878134
Description: Fine. 0060878134 Ships next business day. NEW/UNREAD! ! ! Text is Clean and Unmarked! --Be Sure to Compare Seller Feedback and Ratings before Purchasing--Has a small black ink mark on bottom/exterior edge of pages. May have light shelf wear to cover from storage, if any. read more
Edition: First edition.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780060878139ISBN:0060878134
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. Uncorrected Proof. 258 pgs in like new conditon; cover has very slight wear on edges. An amazing glimpse of modern Egyptian society and culture. read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780060878139ISBN:0060878134
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Pages are clean; wraps have a little edge wear and gentle creases to the fore corners. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 255 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: American University in Cairo Press
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9789774248627ISBN:9774248627
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Slight bend on back upper left corner otherwise very clean and tight. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 272 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Perennial
Date Published: 2006-08-01
ISBN-13:9780060878139ISBN:0060878134
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780060878139. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780060878139ISBN:0060878134
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Description: New. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 255 p. Audience: General/trade. *~*Collectible Advance Copy! ! *~*FREE PRIORITY MAIL (U.S. ) UPGRADE** to SHIP to ALL 50 STATES! ! We SHIP **THIS AFTERNOON or NEXT POSTAL DAY! ! ** (We work hard to enjoy a top rating on all selling sites. ) Very slight cover/corner/edge shelf/handling wear. NO Spine Creasing, Remainder Marks, inside page markings! . Non-smoker environment. Very careful packing & shipping. **CONFIRMATION of ... read more
"This is one of my favorite kinds of novels; it uses the inhabitants of a building in Cairo to look at all strata of urban Egyptian life. There is the young man who cannot rise because he isn't connected; his former girlfriend subjected the indignities of the working world; a gay newspaperman and his demimonde, which he hides from his family; an aging roue; a businessman who uses connections to enter politics, little knowing the the connections will also use him; even the fighting over living and work space on the roof. It is multi-dimensional and unblinking, a worthy heir to Naguib Mahfouz. No wonder it was the best-selling novel in Egypt for a few years."
"Boy. This is tough going. The writing is brilliant. The story is so dispiriting I had trouble divorcing it from my overall impression of the book. I was so depressed when I finished it despite the lyrical brilliance that is Alaa al-Aswany."
"I enjoyed reading The Yacoubian Building but I can't resist analyzing its weaknesses.
The premise of The Yacoubian Building is a credible one. I did not sense that the setting of the story, the placement of a varied selection of individuals in close proximity with one another, all residents in one building is merely fictional license*. The novel is a frank & representative depiction of contemporary Egyptian urban settings, with enough historical and cultural background to explain the finer details of each character's history and motivations. Yet there is something missing in this tapestry. In this group portrait, the interwining of the separate threads, although executed in vibrant and expressive strokes, seems to have been drawn at the expense of any depth of focus. There is no clear primary character, nor a central question that is developed to a sufficiently complex degree to make this a novel of substance where the reader can either empathize with a character or be intrigued by a theme that develops as the story progresses. There's a lack of originality in terms of authorial persepctive/intention, and the closing scenes of each character's subplot don't quite follow from what precedes them, so that ultimately the characters are reduced to moralistic/symbolic entities rather than multidimensional personalities. The characters begin their tales interestingly enough, but ultimately their respective closures appear forced, as if there is only one way their story could end, as if they are conforming to convention (even if the convention is a fictive one). In the case of Busayna, with regard to her financial concerns, it would seem to me that she would be more likely to take a more practical route, rather than resort to the 'honorable' solution (marriage) to her existential dilemma. In terms of character development Busayna's and Zaki's pairing doesn't follow through from their prior behavior or motivations. The union of old (age as well as tradition) with the new/young is schematic rather than realistic, a compromise rather than a progression. Similarly, Abduh's and Hatim's climactic confrontation contextually does not add up, given the way their relationship was presented so far. Hatim's outbursts seem far beneath his prior composure and generosity, esp. after all that he's done for Abduh. The decline of Hatim's behavior is a throwback to East Mediterranean cultural cliches of several decades ago - as with the overall nostalgia of the novel for an Egypt which no longer exists - when popular culture mandated that sexual transgression is a force that ultimately implodes upon itself. Granted, Al Aswany pushes the limits, within the scope of Egyptian cultural realities, by presenting Abduh & Hatim's relationship in explicit terms, and by giving that relationship equal time and exposure in relation to the other parallel plots of the novel. Yet the conclusion is color-by-numbers what is expected within the reality of a society still in the process of evolving from feudal/patriarchal behavioral motivations to contemporary standards. I cannot fully comprehend El Aswany's point, in terms of any possible socio-political commentary there might be in this anachronism.
As a critique of contemporary Arab society where 'men' regardless of position and background, no longer operate according to the spirit of patriarchal codes of conduct I feel that the novel is incomplete. All sense of justice, faith, honor, respect seems to have decayed into crass abuse of the system which gives them power. The social confusion over these social values is most evident when the youthful Taha, whose male honor has been violated, seeks redress in an unmanly & dishonorable way. But I venture that it's only the non-Arab reader who sees this, for according to the tribal traditions, both Abduh and Taha have cleansed themselves of dishonor by avenging their respective oppressors. On the other hand, for the women there is no apparent redress, as in the example of Busayna when her honor is violated (the public humiliation at being arrested for 'prostitution') - is her restitution only possible through marriage?
It appears that Al Aswany has nothing new to say regarding the juxtaposition between the strict moral codes women must still (appear to) adhere to, an anachronistic tradition that persists despite a governing system proclaiming itself as modern, democratic, socialist, etc. We observe members of the political system and the religious administration as men who unashamedly foregoes ideological principles when it is convenient to their shortterm aims - the sheikh agreeing to convince Souad to have an abortion when pressured by his longtime financial benefactor, and when men enter politics only for the purpose of securing financial success through extortion and bribery, also when radical religious leaders force a young recruit to a marriage with a "martyr's" widow, even as they are planning the young man's own martyrdom, and condemning the bride to a second round of widowhood. Even she, the martyr's widow that Taha is set up with in the Brotherhood training camp, is regressing into patriarchal/feudal traditions since she believes progress & change is possible only by a return of the old codes of honor.
Does Al Aswany conclude that the situation cannot be rectified when the men resisting it are themselves oppressors of men as well as women? I'm not sure that it can be interpreted with conviction. In this respect, I felt the novel is incomplete, that whatever lasting message the novel intended to convey has been left unsaid."
"I've been reading on this book for months and months. Did I drag the read out too long? Is that why the book did not captivate me as I'd anticipated? The book follows the lives of several people who all have in common one thing: they all live in the same building in Cairo. Though the story intertwines a bit of politics of the time, the book never felt distinctively Egyptian; the lives of the people could just as easily have been the lives of people in New York City or London. Maybe that is why the book disappointed me."
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