A profile on novelist Alaa Al Aswany publishe in Egypt todayThe dentist who shocked the literary world with his smash hit Imaret Yacoubian speaks out on literature, politics and gay bars

WHEN ALAA El Aswany writes, he writes without fear. He makes no compromises, a quality he says that gives his writing depth even in describing the seedy or sadistic side of human existence. The best-selling author who took the Arab literary establishment by storm with his critically acclaimed Imarat Yacoubian (The Yacoubian Building) does not shy away from weaving sordid tales of political corruption, sexuality, and torture into his stories elements that could have potentially seen the book banned. 

Yet El Aswanys debut novel, a tale of life in a downtown Cairo apartment building that delves into a mix of power, corruption, sex, exploitation, poverty and extremism managed to become one of the best-selling Arabic-language works of fiction in recent decades, receiving accolades for lucidly capturing the varied aspects of Egyptian life: straight, gay, rich, poor, powerful, powerless.

I see literature as an expanse of freedom, he says. Literature should examine the areas that people dont talk about, to show us things we could be feeling but not seeing. Its function is to teach us we are different, that we should be forgiving, and that we should not look at human traits as being either wrong or right. The issue is more complex. For example, I tried to present the homosexual as a person. It is not something to make fun of or to look at with disgust, and not all evil is concentrated in him as a person. He is a human being who has a different lifestyle. He may be happy with it or he may not.

A novelists work is similar to researching a PhD thesis, says El Aswany, who frequented a number of small bars, taking note of the atmosphere that he recreates so colorfully in The Yacoubian Building. One day, he says, the police came.

The police officer came to me and said, What brought you here? You are a doctor, recalls El Aswany, whose national ID card identifies his vocation. You should go to the Meridien to drink a beer. You shouldnt come here. These places are full of thieves. El Aswany eventually got a wasta at the police station, so when he was at a bar during a raid, the officers would know him, wave, and leave him alone.

Born to well-known writer and lawyer Abbas El Aswany, who was awarded the state prize in literature two decades ago, Alaa credits his father with instilling in him a powerful love for writing and literature.

For 30 years until his death in 1977, the first floor office in the Yacoubian Building housed the elder El Aswanys law practice. When his law partner died, the heirs sold their half. Later, Alaa El Aswanys dental clinic would share the space with a shirtmaker and an accountant before moving to an office on Garden Citys Diwan Street.

A single episode inspired the idea behind the novel. El Aswany was walking in Garden City when he saw an old building being demolished to make way for a garage. The building was being torn down in longitudinal sections, making its many separate rooms visible. Those rooms had life. There was someone studying, someone who was in love with the girl next door, a newlyweds first apartment, recalls El Aswany. It had people who lived and people who died. The idea stayed with him for eight years until he finally sat down and began writing the novel in 1998.