Alaa Al Aswany

AF FORFATTEREN TIL Yacoubians hus OGTræerne vandrer i Alexandria. Året er 2011, og den egyptiske revolution kulminerer på Tahrir-pladsen i centrum af Cairo, hvor tusindvis af egyptere går på gaden for at kræve præsident Mubaraks afgang. Alt imens foråret bliver arabisk, fortsætter livet i stort som småt. Skolelæreren Asma og aktivisten Mazen erklærer hinanden deres kærlighed i hastigt nedskrevne breve; unge Khalid og Dania forelsker sig, han søn af en fattig vognmand, hun datter af General Alwani, der overvåger hele befolkningen – og ikke mindst dem. Og den mislykkede skuespiller Ashraf får nu sit livs rolle som revolutionær, mens Issam, den desillusionerede ex-kommunist og alkoholiker, er klar til at gøre hvad som helst for at klatre op ad den sociale rangstige. Jeg løb mod Nilen er et modigt og frem for alt menneskeligt portræt af en afgørende tid, ikke bare for Egypten, men for hele Mellemøsten – en stor fortælling om håb og hykleri, begær og undertrykkelse, frihedstrang og længslen efter tryghed.

AF FORFATTEREN TIL Yacoubians hus OG Jeg løb mod Nilen. Året er 1952, og et opgør med den britiske besættelse af Egypten er på vej. Da den højtstående godsejer Abdelaziz Hamam går fallit, tvinges han til at tage et job som lagerarbejder i Automobilklubben: en luksuriøs klub i Cairo stiftet af rige europæere. Egyptiske medlemmer accepteres ikke i den fashionable klub, og lokale tjenestefolk som Abdelaziz må udholde daglige ydmygelser for at forsørge familien. Da han en dag nægter at føje sig, får det grufulde konsekvenser – for ham og hans familie, men også for Automobilklubbens ellers så solidt forankrede magtbalance, der langsomt begynder at krakelere. Og de egyptiske tjenestefolk stilles over for et valg: at leve et sikkert liv uden værdighed – eller at risikere alt i kampen for deres rettigheder. Den Kongelige Egyptiske Automobilklub er en dramatisk roman om livet bag Automobilklubbens smukke facade, hvor både hasard- og magtspillet blomstrer, og om Cairo under de sidste år af den britiske besættelse.

AF FORFATTEREN TIL Yacoubians hus og Jeg løb mod Nilen. I kølvandet på 11. september kolliderer en række egyptiske og amerikanske skæbner på et universitetscampus i Chicago. Den flittige studerende Shaymas identitet og overbevisninger sættes på prøve, da hun forelsker sig, mens professor Muhammad Salah nærer en snigende tvivl om sit ægteskab med en amerikansk kvinde. Og Rafat Thabit, der begejstret har taget sin nye amerikanske identitet til sig, hjemsøges af sine egyptiske rødder, da der rejses spørgsmål om hans datters ære. Da den egyptiske præsident kommer på officielt besøg, bringes følelser, loyaliteter og tvivl op til overfladen hos alle involverede. Chicago er en barsk og bevægende roman om to kulturer, der både smelter og støder sammen i dette tankevækkende portræt af det komplekse, kontrast- og konfliktfyldte USA, hvor hverdagens små dramaer og store drømme lever side om side.

AF FORFATTEREN TIL Jeg løb mod Nilen OG Træerne vandrer i Alexandria. Midt i Kairo huser en smuk, gammel bygning et virvar af skæbner. Her bor rige forretningsmænd, fornemme aristokrater, hjemmegående kvinder og fattige arbejdere, som har indtaget værelserne oppe under bygningens tag. Fra kælder til kvist væves deres skæbner sammen i en farverig mosaik og bliver til en spraglet fortælling om Egypten i slutningen af det 20. århundrede. Yacoubians hus er et sprudlende og kompromisløst portræt af livet i det moderne Kairo – et modsætningsfuldt sted, hvor de rige og magtfulde udnytter deres position, bestikkelse og korruption er en del af hverdagen, og hvor kærlighed og penge, religion og politik, magt og afmagt går hånd i hånd.

AF FORFATTEREN TIL Yacoubians hus OG Jeg løb mod Nilen. I 1960’ernes Alexandria mødes en gruppe nære venner hver aften på Restaurant Artinos til livlige diskussioner og lystigt samvær. Ejeren, Lyda, kunstneren Anas, advokaten Abbas og hans kone, Noha, boghandleren Chantal, bestyreren Carlo og chokoladefabrikanten Tony Kazzan har alle vidt forskellige rødder, men kærligheden til byen Alexandria binder dem sammen. Når det gælder militærkuppet i 1952 og den karismatiske politiske leder Gamal Abdel Nasser, er de dog langtfra enige, og under Egyptens sociale og politiske omvæltninger, hvad vil der så ske med disse mænd og kvinder, som har taget Alexandrias kosmopolitiske sag – eller måske snarere illusion – til sig? Træerne vandrer i Alexandria er en storslået og fængslende roman om retfærdighed, skønhed og kærlighed – og om menneskeskæbner fanget i en uro større end dem selv: afslutningen på en æra.

'Glorious' Observer'Amazing' André Aciman'Masterly' Sunday Times'Blistering' Financial TimesGeneral Alwany is a pious man who loves his family. He also tortures and kills enemies of the state. Under the regime of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt is gripped by cronyism, religious hypocrisy, and the oppressive military. Now, however, the regime faces its greatest crisis. The idealistic young from different backgrounds - engineers, teachers, medical students, and among them the general's daughter - have come together to challenge the status quo. Euphoria mounts as Mubarak is toppled and love blossoms across class divides, but can it last?'Rooted in first-hand experience, this searing account of the short-lived 2011 Egyptian revolution blends knockabout satire with real polemical anger.' Daily Mail 'A powerful book in the vein of a great Russian or South American social novel . . . Al Aswany is a writer of great talent, a rare man whose courage is not merely literary.' Le Figaro

A glorious, humane novel (The Observer) about the Egyptian revolution, taking us inside the battle raging between those in power and those prepared to lay down their lives in the defense of freedom--this globally-acclaimed narrative from one of the foremost writers in the Arab world is still banned across much of the region. Cairo, 2011. After decades under a repressive regime, tensions are rising in the city streets. No one is out of reach of the revolution. There is General Alwany, a high-ranking member of the government's security agency, a pious man who loves his family yet won't hesitate to torture enemies of the state; Asma, a young teacher who chafes against the brazen corruption at her school; Ashraf, an out-of-work actor who is having an affair with his maid and who gets pulled into Tahrir Square through a chance encounter; Nourhan, a television personality who loyally defends those in power; and many more. As these lives collide, a new generation finds a voice, love blossoms across class divides, and the revolution gains strength. Even the general finds himself at a crossroads as his own daughter joins the protests. Yet the old regime will not give up without a fight. With an unforgettably vivid cast of characters and a heart-pounding narrative banned across much of the region, Alaa Al Aswany gives us a deeply human portrait of the Egyptian Revolution, and an impassioned retelling of his country's turbulent recent history.

The study of dictatorship in the West has acquired an almost exotic dimension. But authoritarian regimes remain a painful reality for billions of people worldwide who still live under them, their freedoms violated, and their rights abused. They are subject to arbitrary arrest, torture, corruption, ignorance, and injustice. What is the nature of dictatorship? How does it take hold? In what conditions and circumstances is it permitted to thrive? And how do dictators retain power, even when reviled and mocked by those they govern? In this deeply considered and at times provocative short work, Alaa Al Aswany tells us that, as with any disease, to understand the syndrome of dictatorship we must first consider the circumstances of its emergence, along with the symptoms and complications it causes in both the people and the dictator.

Alaa al-Aswany tegner en medrivende mosaik af menneskeskæbner, mens revolutionen bølger på Tahrir-pladsen midt i Cairo. Året er 2011, og den egyptiske revolution kulminerer i det centrale Cairo, hvor mange tusinder egyptere kræver præsidentens afgang. Her møder vi skolelæren Asma og aktivisten Mazen, der erklærer hinanden deres kærlighed i hastigt nedskrevne breve, og vi følger det unge forelskede par Khalid og Dania, han søn af en fattig vognmand, hun datter af General Alwani, der overvåger hele befolkningen og ikke mindst dem. Vi møder Ashraf, en forfejlet skuespiller og nyligt opvakt revolutionær, som undslipper sin sure hverdag gennem en affære med Ikram. Og så er der Issam, en desillusioneret ex-kommunist, der er klar til at gøre hvad som helst for at klatre op ad den sociale rangstige. Igennem sine indtagende, menneskelige figurer tegner Alaa al-Aswany et modigt billede af den brydningstid, som har haft afgørende indflydelse på ikke bare Egypten, men store dele af Mellemøsten. Jeg løb mod Nilen er stor fortælling om håb og hykleri, begær og undertrykkelse, frihedstrang og længsel efter tryghed.

First published in Arabic in 1933, Return of the Spirit follows a patriotic young Egyptian and his extended family as they grapple with the events leading up to the 1919 Egyptian revolution. This is a trail-blazing political novel that illustrates the way one man's spiritual awakening ties in with the political awakening of a nation.

The study of dictatorship in the West has acquired an almost exotic dimension. But authoritarian regimes remain a painful reality for billions of people worldwide who still live under them, their freedoms violated and their rights abused. They are subject to arbitrary arrest, torture, corruption, ignorance, and injustice. What is the nature of dictatorship? How does it take hold? In what conditions and circumstances is it permitted to thrive? And how do dictators retain power, even when reviled and mocked by those they govern? In this deeply considered and at times provocative short work, Alaa Al Aswany tells us that, as with any disease, to understand the syndrome of dictatorship we must first consider the circumstances of its emergence, along with the symptoms and complications it causes in both the people and the dictator.

En sprudlende roman om sex, religion, politik, penge, magt, afmagt – og kærlighed. Aswany tegner et enestående, farverigt og kompromisløst portræt af livet i det moderne Kairo – et modsætningsfuldt sted, hvor de rige og magtfulde udnytter deres position, og hvor bestikkelse og korruption er en del af hverdagen. Trykt i mere end 75.000 eksemplarer i Danmark!» Yacoubians Hus er en roman, som ingen elsker af romaner vil kunne lægge fra sig uden at elske romaner endnu højere […]. Aswany skriver på et niveau, som hæver ham op i verdenslitteraturen.«- Politiken

Cairo at the very end of Ottoman rule. Behind the doors of the Automobile Club of Egypt, Egyptian staff attend to the every need of Cairo's European elite - the way they always have done, it seems. But soon the social upheaval out on the street will break its way through the club's gilded doors, and its inhabitants above and below stairs must all confront their choices: to live safely without dignity, or to fight for their rights and risk everything.

In British-occupied Egypt, on the eve of the 1952 revolution, respected landowner Abd el-Aziz Gaafar has fallen on hard times. Bankrupt, he moves his family to Cairo and takes a menial job at the Automobile Club, a luxurious lodge for its European members, where Egyptians appear only as fearful servants. When Abd el-Aziz's pride gets the better of him and he stands up for himself, he is subjected to a corporal punishment that ultimately kills him--leaving two of his sons obliged to work in the Club. As the nation teeters on the brink of change, both servants and masters are subsumed by social upheaval, and the Egyptians of the Automobile Club face a choice: to live safely but without dignity as servants, or to risk everything and fight for their rights. Exuberant and powerfully moving, The Automobile Club of Egypt is an essential work of social criticism from one of the Arab world's greatest literary voices.

As the Egyptian revolution unfolded throughout 2011 and the ensuing years, no one was better positioned to comment on it - and try to push it in productive directions - than best-selling novelist and political commentator Alba Al Aswany. For years a leading critic of the Mubarak regime, Al Aswany used his weekly newspaper column for Al-Masry Al-Youm to propound the revolution's ideals and to confront the increasingly troubled politics of its aftermath. This book presents, for the first time in English, all of Al Aswany's columns from the period, a comprehensive account of the turmoil of the post-revolutionary years, and a portrait of a country and a people in flux. Each column is presented along with a context - setting introduction, as well as notes and a glossary, all designed to give non-Egyptian readers the background they need to understand the events and figures that Al Aswany chronicles. The result is a definitive portrait of Egypt today - how it got here, and where it might be headed.

"Alaa Al Aswany is among the best writers in the Middle East today, a suitable heir to the mantle worn by Naguib Mahfouz, his great predecessor." -Jay Parini, The Guardian (UK) From one of Egypt's most acclaimed novelists, here is 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. Al-Aswany addresses himself to all the questions being asked within Egypt and beyond: who will be the next president, and how will he be chosen in a land where heretofore only simpletons, opportunists and stooges involved themselves with elections? What role will the Muslim Brotherhood play? How can democratic reforms be effected among a people used to such contradictions as the religiously observant policeman who commits torture? In a candid and controversial assessment of both the potential and limitations that will determine his country's future, Al-Aswany reveals why the revolt that surprised the world was destined to happen. " The] star of a new generation of Egyptian novelists." -The Independent (UK)

Forfatteren bag den succesfulde og kritikerroste Yacoubians hus er tilbage med en pragtfuld roman om politik, sex og religion. Læg hertil lige dele venskab, had, ære og ambitioner og det bliver en sprængfarlig cocktail. Romanen foregår i Chicago blandt en mangfoldig gruppe arabere og amerikanere, hvis skæbner flettes sammen på mesterlig vis. Egyptisk og amerikansk livsstil og kultur både forenes og kolliderer i denne farverige og fascinerende fortælling. Det går ikke stille for sig, når hverdages små dramaer må eksistere side om side med store drømme, og Aswany har en vidunderlig evne til at gøre sine personer menneskelige; man mærker deres længsler og behov så det gør helt ondt. Befolket af en flok fængslende og troværdige personer kaster Chicago lys over den udfordring der ligger i at forsøge at få to kulturer til at spille sammen på tilfredsstillende vis. Det er barsk, gribende, aktuelt og tankevækkende - og det er smukt og originalt udført af en forfatter i verdensklasse.

The new book from Alaa Al Aswany, author of the international bestseller ‘The Yacoubian Building’ and ‘Chicago’. ‘Friendly Fire’ is a novella and collection of short stories from Alaa Al Aswany, author of the bestselling ‘The Yacoubian Building’. As in that novel, Al Aswany dissects modern Egyptian society and, with skill and detachment, reveals the hypocrisy, violence and abuse of power characteristic of a world in moral crisis. Here, though, the focus has shifted from the broad historical canvas to the minute stitches of pain that hold together an individual, a family, a school classroom and the relationship between a man and a woman. Can a man so alienated from his society that he regards all its members as no better than microbes wriggling under a microscope survive within it? Can cynical religiosity triumph over human decency? Can a man put the thought of a delicious dish of beans behind him long enough to mourn his father’s death? Alongside these wry questions, other, less mordant perspectives also have their place: an ageing cabaret dancer bestows the blessing of a vanished world on her lover’s son; a crippled boy wins subjective victory from objective disaster. In ‘Friendly Fire’, readers will find again the vivid, passionate characters of today's Cairo, clamouring to be heard. ‘Friendly Fire’ also features an introduction by Alaa Al Aswany giving the history of the novella, ‘The Isam Abd el-Ati Papers’, which was banned in Egypt for a decade.

Friendly Fire, the first collection of short stories from Alaa Al Aswany, acclaimed author of Chicago and The Yacoubian Building, deftly explores the lives of contemporary Egyptians. Here are stories of generational conflict, corruption, repression, infidelity, and the dangerous clashing of western and Arab ideals, all beautifully rendered by Al Aswany, a true modern master and one of Egypt's "most exciting literary exports" (Minneapolis Star Tribune).