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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.
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Three reviews: The Yacoubian Building, The Monk, A Bride of the Plains - 18/09/2012 09:00:44 PM 7632 Views
Actually, it sounds like a bad copy of Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy - 18/09/2012 09:06:40 PM 1537 Views
I've yet to read the final two books of that trilogy. - 18/09/2012 09:36:33 PM 1431 Views
Mahfouz tackles almost all those "taboos". - 18/09/2012 11:20:59 PM 1412 Views
Matthew Lewis - The Monk - 18/09/2012 09:31:27 PM 1515 Views
Baroness Orczy - A Bride of the Plains - 18/09/2012 10:18:51 PM 1706 Views

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