The Republic of False Truths by Alaa al-Aswany review – the personal cost of a failed coup
This fictionalised account of the Egyptian uprising of 2011 has an eye for telling detail in the choice between struggle and self-preservation
April 2020
Books that made me
André Aciman: 'I couldn’t finish Moby-Dick. I lacked the patience'
The author of Call Me By Your Name on laughing out loud at The Pickwick Papers and racing through Enid Blyton
March 2019
Egyptian dissident writer Alaa al-Aswany sued by military prosecutors
Bestselling author of The Yacoubian Building says case against him violates Universal Declaration of Human Rights
February 2016
The Automobile Club of Egypt by Alaa al-Aswany – review
Alaa al-Aswany’s latest work explores class divisions, corruption and injustice as the masters take the servants for a ride in 1940s Cairo
January 2016
A life in ...
Alaa al-Aswany interview: ‘I do not believe the revolution is a political change; it is a human change’
The books interview: Egypt’s bestselling author on writing ‘the novel of the Arab spring’ and why he feels it is his duty to speak out
December 2015
Book of the day
The Automobile Club of Egypt by Alaa al-Aswany review – a country on the brink of violent change
Egypt shuts down novelist Alaa al-Aswany's public event and media work
October 2013
Alaa al-Aswany on why he had to support Egypt's military crackdown
Novelist Alaa al-Aswany is one of Egypt's leading liberal voices. So why does he support the military's bloody crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood? Patrick Kingsley finds out
May 2011
The new Egypt: 100 days on
Egyptian novelist hails revolution as a 'great human achievement'
The country's most celebrated writer, Alaa al-Aswany, was inspired by the Tahrir protesters, but fears a counter-revolution
January 2011
Police alone can't keep rulers in power. Egypt's battle is on
Alaa Al Aswany in Cairo
Alaa Al Aswany: I am in awe of the young protesters I addressed: Egyptians united by injustice and an anger that won't be tamed
November 2010
Books blog
The Yacoubian Building – in Hebrew
Akin Ajayi: NGO claims translation of Alaa al Aswany's bestseller promotes Israeli-Palestinian understanding. But the author was not consulted
July 2009
Three-in-one service
Double standards, Islam and the west
May 2009
The Interview
Chicago
October 2008
Why I Write
Alaa Al Aswany
Between two worlds
September 2008
Tales of the Windy City
Review: Chicago by Alaa al Aswany Alaa al Aswany's tale of an Egyptian migrant community in Chicago asks timely questions but is marred by its crude representation of America says William Skidelsky
August 2008
Cairo calling
Alaa Al Aswany: Success can be dangerous. You get isolated. More than 60% of Egyptians live below the poverty line. I must keep loyal to them
September 2007
The Yacoubian Building
Peter Bradshaw: Boasting a splending central performance from Adel Imam, Marwan Hamed's version of Alaa Al Aswany's novel is a portmanteau account of a handful of characters living in an apartment building in Cairo in 1990.
