A review by wyemu
The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany

5.0

In Cairo the Yacoubian building stands, home to people from all of Egypt's social circles. While most of the flats and offices inside the building belong to the social elite but the roof is a home to a massive community living in makeshift shacks. The characters' stories intertwine with each other effortlessly and each reaches their own personal conclusion to the problems they face. Aswany also deals with subject of Muslim fundamentalism and terrorism with compassion and without making any of the characters clichéd. This is a side of Cairo not shown in the guide and I can't wait to read 'Friendly Fire', Aswany's collection of short stories also set in Cairo.