Alaa Al Aswany

Early life and career

Alaa Al Aswany was born on 26 May 1957 in Cairo. His mother, Zainab, came from an aristocratic family; her uncle was a Pasha and Minister of Education before the Egyptian Revolution of 1952.{{cite news

Al Aswany attended Le Lycée Français in Cairo and received a bachelor's degree in dental and oral medicine at Cairo University in 1980. He went on to pursue a master's degree in dentistry at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1985.{{cite news

Al Aswany married his first wife in his early twenties. She was a dentist and they had a son, Seif. They later divorced. When he was 37, he married Eman Taymoor and they had two daughters, May and Nada.

He wrote a weekly literary critique entitled "Parenthetically" in the Egyptian newspaper Al-Sha'ab, and then became responsible for the culture page in the same newspaper. He wrote a monthly political article in the Egyptian newspaper Al-Arabi Al-Nasseri and a weekly article in the Egyptian newspaper Al-Dustour. He also wrote a weekly article in the Egyptian newspaper Al-Shorouk. Following the revolution, he wrote a weekly article in Al-Masry Al-Youm on Tuesdays. His articles have been published in leading international newspapers such as The New York Times,{{cite web | access-date = 12 March 2013 | access-date = 12 March 2013

His second novel, The Yacoubian Building, an ironic depiction of modern Egyptian society, has been widely read in Egypt and throughout the Middle East. His literary works have been translated into 37 languages,{{cite news | access-date = 12 March 2013

Chicago, a novel set in the city in which the author was educated, was published in January 2007 and his Automobile Club of Egypt was published in English in 2016.

Al Aswany's name has been included on the list of the 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World,{{cite web | access-date = 3 January 2011 He was number one in the Foreign Policy Top 100 Global Thinkers list 2011.{{cite news |access-date = 12 March 2013 |archive-date = 4 May 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120504074817/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/11/28/the_fp_top_100_global_thinkers |url-status = dead

Al Aswany participated in the Blue Metropolis literary festival in Montreal, June 2008 and April 2010, and was featured in interviews with the CBC programme Writers and Company.

In January 2015, the Gingko Library published Democracy is the Answer: Egypt's Years of Revolution, a collection of newspaper columns written by Al Aswany for Al-Masry Al-Youm between 2011 and 2014.{{cite web | access-date = 21 November 2015 | access-date = 21 November 2015 | archive-date = 22 November 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151122114505/https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/media-review/book-review/16544-democracy-is-the-answer-egypts-years-of-revolution | url-status = dead

In 2018, Al Aswany published a novel titled Jumhuriyat ka'an («جمهورية كأن», literally: The Republic of As-If; translated into English as The Republic of False Truths), which takes place in the backdrop of the 2011 Revolution.

His latest novel, Ashgar Tamshi fi-alaskandaryia (Arabic: الأشجار تمشي في الأسكندرية, The Trees Walk in Alexandria) was published in 2024.

Political views

Al Aswany was in Tahrir Square each of the 18 days before Mubarak fell from power. He was one of the few prominent people to interview the Mubarak-appointed Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik on an Egyptian channel. Shafik lost his temper under persistent grilling by the novelist and it was the first time for Egyptians to witness a ruler dressed down so severely by a civilian in public. Consequently, it is said that Shafik was fired by the SCAF. Al Aswany supported the 2013 Coup d'état against the Muslim brotherhood-led government, stating that they were neither democratic. He said: "They are a group of terrorists and fascists." He compared then-elected president Morsi to deposed president Mubarak in terms of dictatorship and repression of freedoms.

In an interview with Robert Fisk in 2014, Al Aswany said "I think we must give the Sisi government a chance. People are terrorised", while acknowledging that Sisi is not a true democrat.

Since 2019, Al Aswany has been living in Paris and New York in self-exile after he was sued by the Egyptian government for "insulting the state".

In 2022, after exile and in the wake of publishing his new novel, Al Aswany stated in a CBC radio interview: "I'm quite sure the revolution will win and I believe the change has already happened ... the future is on our side."

Al Aswany remains critical of the Egyptian government through his online lectures on his YouTube channel. He often states that "Democracy is the solution". He is also critical of other Middle Eastern regimes. Following the Gaza war, Al Aswany was highly critical of the government of Israel, calling for Liberation of Palestine, and the liberation of all the Middle East from tyranny and occupation.

Al Aswany often draws comparisons between the periods of the Kingdom of Egypt and the Republic of Egypt, criticizing the 1952 Free Officers movement as the source of most of the social and economic troubles in contemporary Egypt.

Bibliography (in Arabic)

Novels

• 1990: Awrāq ʾIṣṣām ʾAbd il-ʾĀṭī (, The Papers of Essam Abdel Aaty)
• 2002: ʿImārat Yaʾqūbiyān (, The Yacoubian Building)
• 2007: Chicago ()
• 2013: Nādī il-sayyārāt (, The Automobile Club of Egypt)
• 2018: *Jumhuriyat ka'an * (, The Republic of False Truths)
• 2024: Ashgar Tamshi fi-alaskandaryia (Arabic: الأشجار تمشي في الأسكندرية, The Trees Walk in Alexandria)

Short stories

• 1990: Alladhī iqtarab wa raʾa (, "Who Approached and Saw")
• 1998: Jamʾiyat muntaẓirī il-zaʿīm (, "Waiting for a Leader")
• 2004: Nīrān sadīqa (, "Friendly Fire")

Articles

• 2010: Li mā dhā lā yathūr il-Miṣriyūn (, "Why Don't Egyptians Revolt?”)
• 2011: Hal nastaḥiqq il-dimuqrāṭiyya? (, "Do We Deserve Democracy?”)
• 2011: Miṣr ʿalā dikkat il-iḥṭiyāṭy (, "Egypt on the Reserve Bench")
• 2012: Hal akhṭaʾat il-thawra il-Miṣriyya? (, "Did the Egyptian Revolution Go Wrong?")
• 2014: Kayf naṣnaʾ il-diktātūr? (, "How do we make the Dictator?”)
• Since November 2013, Al Aswany has been writing a monthly opinion column for the International Herald Tribune/New York Times.

English translations

• {{cite book
• {{cite book
• {{cite book
• {{cite book
• Alaa Al Aswany, The Yacoubian Building, HarperPerennial, 2007
• Alaa Al Aswany, The Yacoubian Building, Fourth Estate, 2007
• Alaa Al Aswany, The Yacoubian Building, Humphrey Davies (translator), HarperPerennial, 2006
• Alaa Al Aswany, The Yacoubian Building, Humphrey Davies (translator), The American University in Cairo Press, 2004
• Alaa Al Aswany, The Republic of False Truths, S. R. Fellowes (translator), 2021.

Awards

• 2005: Yemen Bashraheel Award for Arabic Novel, ()
• 2005: Greece The International Cavafi Award
• 2006: France The Great Novel Award from Toulon Festival
• 2007: Italy The Culture Award from The Foundation of The Mediterranean
• 2007: Italy Grinzane Cavour Award
• 2008: Austria Bruno-Kriesky Award
• 2008: Germany Friedrich Award
• 2010: USA University of Illinois Achievement Award
• 2011: Canada Blue Metropolis Award for Arabic Literature
• 2012: Italy Tiziano Terzani Literary Award
• 2012: Italy Mediterranean Cultural Award
• 2012: Germany Johann Philipp Palm Award
• 2016: France Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

References

References

1. [http://www.planetbookgroupie.com/2011/09/20/the-yacoubian-building-2/ Planet Book Groupie Interview] {{webarchive. link. (12 February 2015)
2. "Courses {{!}} Alaa Al Aswany's Creative Writing Workshop".
3. Rachel Cooke, [https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2009/may/31/alaa-al-aswany-interview "The Interview"], ''[[The Observer]]'', 31 May 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
4. [http://alaaalaswany.maktoobblog.com/1618031/book-reviewschicago-a-novel-by-alaa-al-aswany/ Chicago Novel Book Review]. {{webarchive. link. (14 October 2009)
5. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110314102958/http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/new/blogs/bios/aswany/bio-aswany.html Bio of Alaa Al Aswani"], ''World Affairs Journal''. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
6. Kostyal, Karen. (September 2006). "Alaa Al Aswany: Voice of Reason".
7. Kaminski, Matthew. (13 April 2011). "The Face of Egypt’s Uprising". The Wall Street Journal.
8. "The Republic of False Truths". Penguin Random House.
9. (2020). "A Bleak Portrait of the Revolution: Alaa al-Aswany's Jumhuriya ka'an". Asian and African Studies.
10. "Literary Résumé {{!}} NYC {{!}} Alaa Al Aswany's Creative Writing Workshop".
11. {{YouTube. xePLkYq7EuY. Baladna Bil Masry Talk Show (March 2011)
12. Kingsley, Patrick. (2013-10-29). "Alaa al-Aswany on why he had to support Egypt's military crackdown". The Guardian.
13. (2 October 2012). "Egyptian Writer 'Alaa Al-Aswany: Mursi's Rule Is No Different From Mubarak's; Keep Muslim Brotherhood From Taking Over Egypt".
14. Fisk, Robert. (2014-06-02). "Alaa al-Aswany, Egypt's greatest living novelist, knows Sisi is not a true democrat – but is still hopeful that he can 'do good'".
15. (2019-03-20). "Alaa Al Aswany: Egypt 'sues novelist for insulting state'". BBC News.
16. (17 February 2022). "'The future is on our side': Exiled Egyptian author remains defiant". CBC Radio.
17. Perry, Dan. (18 April 2021). "The Blogs: My love for an Israel-hating Egyptian writer".
18. Alaa Al Aswany. (2024-03-05). "عن تحرير فلسطين وتحرير مصر {{!}} ندوة د. علاء الأسواني".
19. الوفد. "الأسوانى يفوز بجائزة "البحر المتوسط" للثقافة". الوفد.
20. (2012-11-28). ""الأسوانى" يفوز بجائزة حرية التعبير الألمانية – اليوم السابع". اليوم السابع.