Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Get the book here! Egypt’s most expensive film to date, with a plethora of stars and dazzling locations, The Yacoubian Building resembles an overblown Hollywood-style melodrama that would not have shamed Douglas Sirk. Community The Yacoubian building where most of the action in the movie exists in life and it is used to portray contemporary Egypt lifestyle. James Buchan has translated from Persian Hushang Golshiri's Shazdeh Ehtejab (The Prince, Harvill Secker), James Buchan applauds Alaa al Aswany's Arabic bestseller about sex and power, The Yacoubian Building, Buy The Yacoubian Building at the Guardian bookshop. It follows the stories of several characters who live in the Yacoubian Building, a once-luxurious building that houses rich residents inside and a shanty town on its roof, creating a clear divide between the building’s rich and poor. The Yacoubian Building is the sort of dense neighbourhood novel which, though quite out of … Initially home to the "cream of society", after the nationalist revolution in 1952 and the "exodus of Jews and foreigners", the apartments are taken over by army officers and their families. You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies Oldest first, -1) ? 'active' : ''"> Oldest first, -1) ? By David Parkinson | Posted 31 Aug 2007. Marwan Hamed’s epic star-spangled social fresco, adapted from Alaa Al Aswany’s spectacularly popular 1990-set novel, is something of a landmark film in Egyptian Built in 1934 by an Italian firm for an Armenian millionaire, the Yacoubian Building, "ten lofty stories in the high European style", is a metaphor for wider historical upheavals. 'active' : ''"> Are you sure you want to delete this comment? What are you waiting for ?) The Yacoubian Building is adapted from a novel of the same name by Alaa Al Aswany, which took the Arab world by storm upon release in 2002. It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss Start your Independent Premium subscription today. A master of characterisation, Alaa Al Aswany entwines the reader in an all-engaging story that revolves around inhabitants of a single, dilapidated, apartment building, The Yacoubian Building. Independent Premium Comments can be posted by members of our membership scheme, Independent Premium. The Yacoubian Building is set in Cairo around 1990, the time of the Gulf War. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. December 8, 2006 | Rating: 2.5/4 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. language is not acceptable, Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties, We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification, -1) ? Hatim Rasheed, the editor of a French-language newspaper, an aristocrat and an intellectual, is madly in love with Abduh, an underfed conscript with unbrushed teeth. The Yacoubian building is an apartment building which was built in Egypt's glory days; once ornate and modern, it has fallen into disrepair. 2007-04-25 00:00:00 reviews The Yacoubian Building By Alaa al Aswany Translated by Humphrey Davies Harper Perennial, 2006, 255 pp., $13.95 Even before the cast of characters, acknowledgments, and translator's note that open this novel from deep inside contemporary Egypt, the phenomenon it has become will … Some wealthy families occupy the large apartments there, but impoverished residents live on the roof in what was formerly servants' quarters. The Yacoubian Building is fast-moving and action-packed, with drama in every scene and shifts between the different strands used to provide tension. The Yacoubian Building is a flawed, yet ultimately illuminating film worth seeing. It engages with corruption, homophobia, sexism, Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism; all sensitive and controversial issues in contemporary Egyptian society. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. The Yacoubian Building book. Likened by one of the film’s producers to “an Egyptian Ocean’s Eleven,” The Yacoubian Building broke box-office records on its home release. Busayna, Taha's childhood sweetheart, is worn down by the double standards which expect her to provide for her widowed mother and siblings, to guard her honour, and to endure sexual harassment at work. The inhabitants offer us a multiplicity of stories and perspectives, from the rabble on the roof to aristocrats in their 10-room apartments. Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. It has been translated into 23 languages. The author, a dentist by profession, had his first office in the Yacoubian Building in Cairo. Directed by Marwan Hamed. With Adel Emam, Nour El-Sherif, Youssra, Essad Youniss. The Yacoubian Building is not heavy going: the mood is never gloomy and there are occasional flashes of joy, most notably associated with sex, of which Al Aswany takes a positive view. Al Aswany's interwoven narratives of the diverse inhabitants of a once grand, now dilapidated, apartment block in downtown Cairo marry the humanist realism of Balzac with the hyperbolic momentum of Egyptian soap opera. The Yacoubian Building (review) The Yacoubian Building (review) Street, Steve. Independent Premium. Movies: Yacoubian Building, The; An epic amalgam of stories set in contemporary Cairo. The Yacoubian Building was the best-selling Arabic novel for 2002 and 2003, and was voted Best Novel for 2003 by listeners to Egypt's Middle East Broadcasting Service. Title: The Yacoubian Building Author: Alaa Al Aswany Publication Year: 2006 (published in original Arabic: 2002) Pages: 255 Genre: Fiction Source: Gift from Zaid a few years ago From the cover: This controversial bestselling novel in the Arab world reveals the political corruption, sexual repression, religious extremism, and modern hopes of Egypt today. Newest first, -1) ? Miami Cairo Hostel: In THE Yacoubian Building!!! Though this is sometimes strained, it holds up well enough, and though the … Reviewed by Amie Daraves. Despite acknowledging the rich contribution of Copts, Greeks, Armenians and Jews to Egyptian culture, the novel slips into monocultural assumptions. . I found the novel both well written and structured. At times, the voice is culturally as well as sexually conservative. Please The Yacoubian Building. YACOUBIAN BULDING FILM REVIEW 2 Introduction The Yacoubian Building is a film that was set in downtown Cairo in the year 1990. Academia.edu is a platform for academics to share research papers. The best in film, music, TV & radio straight to your inbox, Register with your social account or click here to log in. As the middle classes abandon the inner city the inhabitants become more varied, and the little lock-up sheds on the roof become homes for migrants from the countryside. Please By Alaa Al Aswany, The American University in Cairo Press, 2004, 245 pp. Through their various exploits, we learn about businessmen, politics, closet homosexuality, students, entrepeneurs and families living hand to mouth. Most liked, -1) ? will be published daily in dedicated articles. Guidelines. Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate? The Yacoubian Building distinguishes itself both as the most expensive Egyptian film ever made and, despite its nearly three-hour running time, one of the most watchable. I haven't seen it yet and heard very conflicting opinions about it, and Maria's review … Newest first, -1) ? Log in to update your newsletter preferences. Want to discuss real-world problems, be involved in the most engaging discussions and hear from the journalists? 'active' : ''"> Full Review Help 'active' : ''"> The taboo subjects “The Yacoubian Building” touches made the film a sensation inside Egypt. "The Yacoubian Building" is a novel about modern-day Cairo, using the residents of the building as a broad cross-section of Egyptian society. Enter your email to follow new comments on this article. 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. The Yacoubian Building has topped the bestseller lists for over two years, been adapted for the screen by Marwan Hamid and inspired impassioned cultural debate. The most insightful comments on all subjects 'active' : ''"> Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post 255pp, Fourth Estate, £14.99. has sent me this review of Egypt's star-packed, hit movie of the summer, The Yacoubian Building , based on the Alaa Al Aswany novel of the same name. by Alaa al Aswany . continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. What catches the reader’s eye the most while reading Alaa Al-Aswany’s The Yacoubian Building (HarperCollins, 2006, translated from Arabic by Humphrey Davies) is the sheer enormity of its eponymous landmark, and how it reflects the identity of everyone who resides in it: The deformed on the rooftops, the depraved of its streets, a shoe-shining drug dealer turned politician, or the molesters who hire young … try again, the name must be unique, Please "Everyone is scheming in The Yacoubian Building, giving this novel the shape and tone of a soap opera. Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile, There are no comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts, There are no Independent Premium comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts, The Yacoubian Building, by Alaa Al Aswany, trans Humphrey Davies, Email already exists. In their stead, a new breed of Cairenes has moved in. This is true of Alaa Al Aswany's novel from 2002, The Yacoubian Building (ImaratYa'qubyan). Yet the depiction is often uncomfortable because it seems prejudiced rather than permissive. You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for The Yacoubian Building [2005] [DVD] at Amazon.com. We are shown how social exclusion, police corruption and American atrocities in Iraq all play their part in his conversion, although it is oppression and torture that finally set him on the path to violence. Create a commenting name to join the debate. try again, the name must be unique, Please The film portrays life in the modern Egyptian society from the time the country experienced a coup d’état in the year 1952. It would be difficult to overestimate the impact that Alaa Al Aswany's novel has had in Egypt. It would be difficult to overestimate the impact that Alaa Al Aswany's novel has had in Egypt. Are you sure you want to submit this vote? A rare and penetrating look into modern Egyptian society can be found in Alaa Al Aswany’s novel, The Yacoubian Building.Set in an actual building in downtown Cairo, the controversial best-seller weaves together the lives of several characters to create a daring social critique. to your comment. real-world solutions, and more. Yacoubian Building, The; The Yacoubian Building Review. try again, the name must be unique, Please - See 101 traveler reviews, 32 candid photos, and great deals for Miami Cairo Hostel at Tripadvisor. Sharing the full story, not just the headlines. While ageing roué Zaki Bey whiles away his evenings in Maxim's listening to Edith Piaf, nostalgic for Egypt's cosmopolitan past, Taha the doorman's son becomes a fervent advocate for its Islamic future. Homosexuals, the novel tells us, excel in professions like public relations because they lack "that sense of shame that costs others opportunities". 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. Ranging widely around his Cairo, Al Aswany describes the many ways his characters scrabble against one another in this struggle to be human. try again, the name must be unique, You may not agree with our views, or other usersâ, but please respond to them respectfully, Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate. 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. The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Many Egyptian readers have found Al Aswany's depiction of male homosexuality the most challenging aspect of the novel. 'Yacoubian Building' Houses Uncomfortable Truths February 22, 2005 • The controversial, best-selling Egyptian novel The Yacoubian Building describes a country that is corrupt, unfair and thuggish. Most liked. Read 1,491 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. they can to create a true meeting of independent Premium. Yet despite dealing with serious subjects, the experience of reading the novel is more akin to a guilty literary pleasure than a civic duty. try again, the name must be unique, Please But perhaps intellectual consistency is too much to ask, especially when Humphrey Davies's elegant translation provides us with the most emotionally compelling Egyptian novel published in English since Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy. 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