Alaa Al Aswany - Egyptian novelist (3 books)

ALAA AL ASWANY (b. 1957) is a best-selling Egyptian writer and journalist.

His first novel, THE YACOUBIAN BUILDING (2002), is a scathing portrayal of modern Egyptian society. It was the bestselling novel in the Arab world for more than five years and longlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 2006. It has been translated into 23 languages worldwide. The book was made into a film of the same name in 2006 and into a TV series in 2007.

CHICAGO, a novel set in the city in which the author was educated, was published in Arabic in 2007.

Al Aswany was in Tahrir Square each of the 18 days before President Hosni Mubarak fell from power. ON THE STATE OF EGYPT provides a vivid chronicle of Egyptian society, with penetrating analysis of all the most urgent issues -- economic stagnation, police brutality, poverty, the harassment of women and of the Christian minority, to name a few -- that led to the stunning overthrow of the Mubarak government.


All of the following books are in EPUB format. In addition, the two novels are in PDF.

* CHICAGO: A NOVEL (HarperCollins, 2008). Translated by Farouk Abdel Wahab.

* ON THE STATE OF EGYPT: WHAT MADE THE REVOLUTION INEVITABLE (Vintage, 2011). Translated by Jonathan Wright.

* THE YACOUBIAN BUILDING: A NOVEL (HarperCollins, 2006). Translated by Humphrey Davies.