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Product Description

This controversial bestselling novel in the Arab world reveals the political corruption, sexual repression, religious extremism, and modern hopes of Egypt today.

All manner of flawed and fragile humanity reside in the Yacoubian Building, a once-elegant temple of Art Deco splendor now slowly decaying in the smog and bustle of downtown Cairo: a fading aristocrat and self-proclaimed "scientist of women"; a sultry, voluptuous siren; a devout young student, feeling the irresistible pull toward fundamentalism; a newspaper editor helplessly in love with a policeman; a corrupt and corpulent politician, twisting the Koran to justify his desires.

These disparate lives careen toward an explosive conclusion in Alaa Al Aswany's remarkable international bestseller. Teeming with frank sexuality and heartfelt compassion, this book is an important window on to the experience of loss and love in the Arab world.

About the Author

Alaa Al Aswany is the bestselling author of three previous books published in Arabic. He is a journalist who writes a monthly opposition newspaper column, and he makes his living as a dentist in Cairo, Egypt, where his first office was in the Yacoubian Building. The Yacoubian Building, which caused an immediate scandal due to its sexual frankness when first published in Egypt, has been translated into nine languages and was made into a film. It had the largest budget in Egyptian cinema and has been screened at various international film festivals.

First Sentence:
The distance between Baehler Passage, where Zaki Bey el Dessouki lives, and his office in the Yacoubian Building is not more than a hundred meters, but it takes him an hour to cover it each morning as he is obliged to greet his friends on the street. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
white gallabiya, presiding general, property guard, iron rooms, dawn prayer Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Hagg Azzam, Zaki Bey, Yacoubian Building, Sheikh Bilal, Sheikh Shakir, Suleiman Basha, God's Law, Abd Rabbuh, Abu Himeida, Hamid Hawwas, Ali the Driver, Hatim Rasheed, Kamal Bey, People's Assembly, Automobile Club, Chez Nous, Police College, National Security, Central Security, Fikri Bey, Patriotic Party, Hatim Bey, Fikri Abd, Malak Khilla, Souad Gaber New!
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