“The Yacoubian Building” has been one of the most successful contemporary Egyptian novels in recent years. Together with the film it has opened up many of the social and cultural issues in Egypt. It demonstrates how a work of literature, with its own integrity, can also identify the direction for intercultural dialogue.
Alaa Al Aswany is in London, speaking at the Royal Society of Arts, on 4 September. His new novel, Chicago, explores the world of the emigre; another key area of cultural inter-action. Details at
http://www.thersa.org/events/our-events/rsa-thursday-Emigre-identity-in-post-911-America
For those who can’t get along to the discussion there is a long article in the Guardian at
