When the novel, ‘The Yacoubian Building’ (Imarat Yaqubian) first appeared in 2002, it set off a literary storm! Since then, however, this second novel by Alaa Al Aswany has become the world’s best selling Arabic novel. The English translation by Humphrey Davies, published by The American University in Cairo Press is now available. The author, a dentist by profession, acknowledges the help of Gamal Al-Ghitani “who courageously undertook the publication of the novel and Dr. Galal Amin, who enthusiastically recommended it to the publishers.” Both Alaa Al Aswany and Dr. Galal Amin have described, though in different ways, the changes which Egyptian society has undergone from the 1950s to the present.

The novel’s uniqueness lies in the fact that its main characters and most of its action take place in the Yacoubian Building itself. It is in fact a real building on Suleiman Pasha Street in the center of Cairo. The author’s father, Abbas Al Aswany, a well-known writer and winner of the State Prize for Literature, had an office in the building and Alaa himself opened his first dental clinic there.

Davies, the translator, quite rightly points out: “It would be a mistake to assume that everything and everyone mentioned in The Yacoubian Building corresponds to an identifiable existing original. While the world of the book is undeniably that of today’s Egypt, the author achieves this sense of verisimilitude by taking recognizable features from a number of known originals in order to form new creations. That these collages are so convincing is a measure of the novel’s genius and explains in part its appeal.”

Alaa Al Aswany is a wonderful observer of the human mind and soul. Each of the novel’s characters ­— the impoverished aristocrat, the desperate squatters living on the roof, the ruthless businessmen and corrupt politicians — are accurate portrayals and illustrate the complexity of Egyptian society. The novel’s strong and often bold political and social undertones are also enlivened by truly, compelling descriptions such as this passage in which he describes the hero’s servant in an almost surreal way:

“When Abaskharon emerges from one of the corners of the apartment with his crutches, his ever-dirty gallabiya, his aged hang-dog face, and his ingratiating smile, he seems like a creature functioning effectively in its natural surroundings, like a fish in water or a cockroach in the drain.

Indeed whenever for some reason he leaves the Yacoubian Building and walks down the sunny street through the passersby and the noise of the cars, he looks odd and out of place, like a bat in daylight, and his integrity is restored only when he returns to the office where he has spent two decades concealed in darkness and damp.”

The Yacoubian Building is now being made into a film written by Wahid Hamed and directed by his son Marwan Wahid Hamed. Emad El-Din Adib, the producer announced, “The film will be subtitled in French and English so it can take part in International Film Festivals.” The hero, Zaki El Dessouki, the son of a pasha deprived of his possessions after the Revolution, is played by Adel Imam and Hag Mohamed Azzam, a self-made man by Nour El-Sherif who said he was delighted to take part in the film: “Comedians of my generation accept being a star among stars. That is why I agreed to play the part of Mohamed Azzam which is not a major role. He is, however, a character who cannot be ignored.”