I've yet to read the final two books of that trilogy.
Legolas Send a noteboard - 18/09/2012 09:36:33 PM
I mean down to the details about the characters. I obviously can't say much definitively, not having read the book (and honestly, I really don't have much desire to, either, based on the synopsis), but from what you've posted it really sounds like a bad copy of the Cairo Trilogy, written by Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz.
But judging by the first book in the trilogy - Mahfouz obviously has far more space to tell his story in, and his characters have far more depth as a result (likely also because he's simply a better writer). I wouldn't call this book a "bad copy", though. Obviously today's (or, well, 2002's) Egypt is a very different place from the time Mahfouz was writing about, and the problems dealt with here are different ones. But I agree that the merits of Imarat Yacoubian are more in the sheer number of taboos it tackles and its willingness to openly discuss the many things wrong with Egyptian society, than in real literary quality. Which is the reason why I'm more enthusiastic about the movie - that movie does star some fine performances.
Three reviews: The Yacoubian Building, The Monk, A Bride of the Plains
18/09/2012 09:00:44 PM
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Actually, it sounds like a bad copy of Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy
18/09/2012 09:06:40 PM
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I've yet to read the final two books of that trilogy.
18/09/2012 09:36:33 PM
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