A review by djinnmartini
The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany

4.0

I don't know that people who aren't familiar with the Egyptian Greats [Mahfouz, Taha Hussein] or familiar with Egypt in general will enjoy this book as much [although this particular translation has a really good glossary in the back giving some good political and social context]. Like his literary predecessors, Aswany has a very frank, fatalistic [for lack of a better word], distinctly Egyptian voice, and this leads to some unredemptive [and mildly depressing] moments in the novel, but like Mahfouz and Hussein, he also turns the sad into small fragmented happy things.
Really enjoyed it, miss Egypt now.