Written by Angéle Rougeot
First published in Arabic in 2002, and made into a film in 2006, the Yacoubian Building left a widespread print on both the Arab and Western literary world. Acclaimed as the most impactful book since Nagui Mahfouz Cairo’s Trilogy, (The Independant, 2007) the plot takes place in the eponym building in downtown Cairo. It mirrors both a description and a critique of the socio-political reality of Egypt in the backdrop of the First Gulf War. Al Aswany portrays the bittersweet aftertastes of the 1952 coup and the lingering effects it had in the country via a plethora of characters, all inhabitants of the same building.
From the western spoken voice of the wealthy Zaki Bey el Dessouki, to the heartbreaking story line of Busayna el Sayed, a young and dynamic lady that seeks a job to support her family, but finds herself confronted to the despicable reality of sexual harassment and women’s discrimination, all characters give an
insightful perspective on the Egyptian landscape. The varied creation of these protagonists builds, from the very start, an accurate critique of the idea of the nation. All of the split identities of the novel showcase how despite being in the same place — the building itself as the metaphor for the nation state of Egypt— all characters fail to find belonging or a sense of community.
Al Aswany’s work is not merely an entertaining novel but rather a strong interrogation of where to locate identity without falling in the trap of ethnocentrism. ( T.J. Reiss, 1992) He tackles the discomfort triggered
simultaneously by the post-colonial anxiety and the rising hegemony of Western modernity. The novel’s success lies in the arrogance to present Egypt naked, and impoverished by the tangible interplay of both secular and Muslim nationalism that marked the transition from Nasser to Sadat. Ethnicity, cultural lineage,
and religious commitment are themes that punctuate the novel interrogating how otherness and ‘we-ness’ are created.
Unravelling the emotional: the tale of the self
The Yacoubian building is a literary unravelling of multiple layers of identity that all performs at different levels. (J. Butler, 1997) The rhetoric of the book is poignant because it catches the ‘emotional self’, the reflexivity of the characters bringing the reader closer to the fate of each protagonist. As such, the novel
arguably holds at its core the foundation of the construction of oneself. It understands that identity is not built around the nation state, the sovereignty or display of power relations, but rather in the depth of the psychological making of the character. Al Aswany voluntarily emphasised in an interview given to Radio
France in 2020 that his work primarily dealt with keeping the human as the central scope, rather than the human within a specific national or ethnic context. (Radio France, 2020) He confided to Le Figaro that ‘C’est ce facteur humain qui fait que la littérature n’a pas de frontières.’(It is this human factor which makes
literature borderless), (Le Figaro, 2006) . The entanglement of multiple psychological and spiritual dimension, emphasising sexual, gender, class, wealth, religious and cultural dynamics, all simultaneously bond and divide the main characters as much as they connect the reader to the protagonists.
Moreover, the self in Al Aswany’s writing is central in showcasing how ultimately, the bottom line of each identity claim, whether national, social, political, religious, sexual or other, is violence and suffering. The centrality of these themes in the novel highlight how brutality is invested in identity and how the projected
immanence of each main figure is responsible for their fate.
The demise of the nation state or where to locate identity
The materialisation of the homeland through the building showcases a disordered national identity in which
characters evolve. Al Aswany thus challenges the idea of imagined community (B. Anderson, 1983) in addressing the distortion of fate in the building’s microcosm. As claimed by the Afghan writer Atiq Rahimi, Al Aswany makes a compelling use of ‘the power of words against the words of power’. (A. Rahimi, 2013) For instance, the story of Hatim, issued from the pre-revolutionary bourgeoisie, narrates the life of a man who is paralysed by his sexual orientation. This prevents him from feeling at home even in his own country.
Despite his social and financial predispositions, Hatim becomes an outsider from the inside out. The condemnatory cultural attitude of Egypt clashes with his personal identity which ends with a fatal outcome.
The death of Hatim symbolises how his inability to internalise the role and identity normatively associated with the state impairs his membership to the community. (M. Castells, 2011). Al Aswani thus transcribes the symptoms of marginalisation amidst a new republic that still holds tightly onto conservative values despite facing modernity.
Mapping – lacking – identities
The author champions the dismantlement of fixed and presumed identities, which caused dissatisfaction from the Egyptian authorities. The book was turned down three consecutive times in the early 2000s by government owned publishing companies. Despite the said commitment to free speech in Egypt, this hidden
censorship reveals the anxiety that arose in response to Al Aswany’s pro-democratic and anti-corruption discourse. What really is at stake, and that the Egyptian government was deeply aware of at the time of publication, is the proclamation of a failed nationhood. Through the pages of the Yacoubian Building, literature is tinged with disarray and despair to produce the dissent of Egyptian political and social reality. Throughout the book, identity is nowhere to be found in the political constituency but rather in dynamics of inclusion and exclusion that each protagonist faces. Al Aswany weaponises his writings to debunk the normative relation associated with identity, the state and legitimate holders of rights. The novel interrogates the place of identity and bonds of kinship by intimately exposing the distribution of love and hate in the metaphorical microcosm of downtown Cairo.
20 years on, where does the novel stand ?
Reading the book in 2023, more than 20 years after its initial publication creates a sort of malaise considering the Arab Spring of 2011, and the current turmoil in the Middle East. Underneath the cover of a guilty literary pleasure, Al Aswany supplies the reader with a comprehensive and compelling engagement with the role of Islam within the body politic. The Arab best seller emphasises the identity dimension of Islamic Fundamentalism, or rather the way a lack of a certain national identity can encourage individuals to seek another form of belonging, which political Islam can provide. The failure of secular nationalism can
foster the creation of a religious nationalism as a form of defensive identity. (M.Castell, 2011) Portraying the determined and ambitious Tahaa, Al Aswany unfolds a moving perspective: despite his willingness to support his country by becoming a police officer, the young man finds himself excluded
because of his social class. The fate of the character is imbued with a tragic irony because Tahaa was initially committed to be part of the nation-state. The boy wanted to abide by the logic of sovereignty in joining the figure of authority — the police. Nonetheless, the reclusion and defilement inflicted by the latter led the
teenager to the path of Jihad. Despite dying in Martyrdom, Tahaa died belonging to a community — albeit a non conventional one. The claim is bold and frightening, terrorism is not an evil organisation, but rather a refuge for a lost soul. Open to debate, this perspective nevertheless sheds a light on the capital role of violence, sovereignty and the paroxysm of a need to belong within a fractured society.
Holding onto humanity
The haunting spectrum of Balzac styled realism illustrates the entanglement of politics and religion in a time and space. The book does not trial the failure of the state to provide a sense of nationhood, but rather gives an emotional and socio analytical framework to seize the importance of how community and belonging are not as self evident as it seems despite the nationalistic claims that frequently take them for granted.
The Yacoubian Building remains a timeless novel, with a vibrant connection to the idea of identity relative to the self and the nation. Al Aswany reaffirmed in 2021 that ‘novels are a pieces of life (…) and the most important thing in any novel is the human factor’ (Konrad Adenauer Foundation, 2021) committing himself
to render the reality of people’s existence.
The failure of kinship displayed in the narration is tempered by the empathy triggered in the reader’s mind.
The genius of Al Aswany is to demonstrate simultaneously the gap between protagonists, while managing to demonstrate how, through their suffering, their life experiences and their humanity, all the inhabitants are
connected.
When so much of the world is plunged in darkness and chaos, the core teachings of the book remain immutable; humanity must be praised, the ugly truth ought to be told , and speaking the unspeakable empowers artistic and literary creation more than ever before.
Bibliography
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Identity Hunters 