The Yacoubian Building is a book written by an ancient Egyptian dentist Alaa Al Aswany. The book was originally published in Arabic in 2002. However, due to its content politically, the book had to be published privately, but soon after its release it sold out within a month, becoming one of the number 1 bestsellers in the Arab world for over five years. sold more than 250,000 copies per year a figure which exceeded the usual 3,000 print runs of other common books. The book was later translated into 27 other languages, including Hebrew. The book was also adapted into a film. , the highest-grossing film ever made in Egypt and called for it to be banned, allegedly because it gave the country a bad name ("Alaa Al Aswany's Spotlight on the Yacoubian Building") has etched its mark in the story by contemptuously depicting current Egyptian history The intertwined characters, from the doorman to the richest man in Cairo, produce the corruption and dictatorship that was seen in the previous government. The book is set in the early 1990s. It is the intertwined story of the people who lived in a building known as Yacoubian. This apartment building was originally a large building in downtown Cairo, where the wealthy lived, but later became dilapidated. The building seems to be a metaphor that the author uses to illustrate the wider upheavals in the country. The city center, where the building was located, was once the home of the elite, but these people abandoned this part of the city after the nationalist revolution of 1952. Once the rich left this part of the city, the resulting inhabitants became very diverse. All kinds of w...... middle of paper ...... CitéAdil, Alev. “The Yacoubian Building, by Alaa Al Aswany, Trans Humphrey Davies.” The Independent. Internet. April 14, 2011. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-yacoubian-building-by-alaa-al-aswany-trans-humphrey-davies-436484.htmlAswany, Alaa. The Yacoubian building. Cairo: American University of Cairo Press, 2004. Print. Choudhury, Chandrahas. “An Egyptian world as a team.” The telegraph. Internet. April 14, 2011. Nice, Pamela. “A conversation with Alaa Al Aswany on the Yacoubian building. » Aljadid. Internet. April 14, 2011. “Spotlight on Alaa Al Aswany’s Yacoubian Building.” Roxelane. Internet. April 14 2011.