The Yacoubian Building, Alaa Al Aswany

The Yacoubian Building, by Alaa Al Aswany

Through five principal characters and numerous lesser characters, the author paints a portrait of life and culture in Egypt during the time of Nasser (and presumably continuing to the present time). The overriding theme of the book is one of hopelessness resulting from the corrupt political system that completely permeates all aspects of life. Meaningful and legitimate occupations are nonexistent; only through participating in personal or political corruption can anyone eke out a living or move forward successfully. The author shows the terrible toll of the corruption on individuals, leading some to break down emotionally, others to engage in whatever form of behavior they determine necessary to survive, and still others to seek peace of mind through religious extremism. No joy can be found; no peace can be found; mere survival is the most one can hope for. Fortunately for the readers of the book, in the end, two of the five principal characters find the possibility of joy with each other, although we know that even that joy can only be short term, for Zaki Bey is 65 and Busayna is only 18.

This book has been a best seller in the Arabic world since 2002, and a film was made of the book.

The Yacoubian Building

The Yacoubian Building (film)

The Dog in the Manger, Shakespeare Theatre

Michael Hayden as Teodoro and Michelle Hurd as Diana in the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of The Dog in the Manger, directed by Jonathan Munby. Photo by Scott Suchman.

The Dog in the Manger, by Lope de Vega

Translation by David Johnston

Written in 1613, the play is a romantic comedy about forbidden love between a Countess, Diana, who falls in love with her servant, Teodoro, her secretary. One of the best performances I have seen at The Shakespeare Theatre. The background information provided by The Shakespeare Theatre is complete and excellent.

Synopsis

Lope de Vega

Timeline of the Spanish Golden Age

The Washington Post review is excellent.

The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday, Alexander McCall Smith

The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday by Alexander McCall Smith

Book 5 in “The Sunday Philosophy Club” series.

In “The Sunday Philosophy Club” series, Isabel Dalhousie is Alexander McCall Smith’s voice in examining philosophical and ethical issues. In The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday, Smith examines the issue of dishonesty. Isabel/McCall Smith examines dishonesty in numerous situations, both real and perceived, the largest of which concerns the deaths of three patients who were prescribed a new antibiotic medication, and the disgrace of a physician who examined the data following the deaths of the first two of them and cleared the drug for further use, leading to the death of the third. As the philosopher/sleuth of the series, Isabel must find the dishonesty involved in the deaths, and the truth. In the book, Isabel is also faced with several other apparently dishonest situations. She must sort out the dishonesty of Eddie, a young assistant at the delicatessen of her niece, who asked her for money. She is confronted with the continuing dishonesty of Christopher Dove, the philosophy professor who tried to get her fired from her job as editor of The Review of Applied Ethics, and who now wants her to publish an inferior article in the journal. She meets a visiting conductor, who she suspects of dishonesty in dealing with her lover, Jamie. And most of all, she is wracked with emotion in dealing with apparent dishonesty by her lover, Jamie, himself.

McCall Smith examines these situations from several points of view, demonstrating their complexities. As Isabel confronts these situations, she learns of new information that leads her to differing conclusions, or to change her mind about the dishonesty and truth. Isabel/McCall Smith learn that the human mind is unable to perceive the difference between honesty and dishonesty. Perception of honesty and dishonesty is very unreliable. What seems honest is dishonest, and what seems dishonest is in fact true. Our ability to detect honesty and dishonesty is greatly affected by our feelings about others; we feel that sympathetic people are honest, while unsympathetic people are dishonest. In fact, dishonest people learn to portray themselves as sympathetic in order to fool us into believing their stories. Our perception is also greatly affected by our own fears and insecurities, leading us to perceive dishonesty in situations when we are most insecure.

McCall Smith examines these situations, but he does not resolve all of them. The reader is left wondering about several of them – both what was truth and what was dishonest, and how the situations were eventually dealt with. We are simply not told; the situations are left unresolved. McCall Smith can sometimes leave the reader wishing the story would speed up; sometimes the story wanders in extraneous thought, directionless. We want him to "get to the point". As in all of his previous books, McCall Smith is gentle and loving. He has Isabel taking the high road, overlooking past dishonesty, or even present dishonesty, and finding an honorable, even inspiring, way to set situations right again. As always, McCall Smith is “homey” in his writing, leaving the reader feeling that he has not strained in reading the book, and feeling safe and comfortable when the story ends, perhaps even inspired and happy.

Alexander McCall Smith's delightful official website