WRITER

Alaa Al Aswany

1957 - Today

Photo of Alaa Al Aswany

Icon of person Alaa Al Aswany

Alaa Al Aswany (Arabic: علاء الأسواني, IPA: [ʕæˈlæːʔ elɑsˈwɑːni]; born 26 May 1957) is an Egyptian writer, novelist, and a founding member of the political movement Kefaya. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Alaa Al Aswany has received more than 161,367 page views. His biography is available in 26 different languages on Wikipedia. Alaa Al Aswany is the 4,043rd most popular writer (down from 3,701st in 2019), the 461st most popular biography from Egypt (down from 417th in 2019) and the 47th most popular Egyptian Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 160k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 50.16

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 26

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 5.48

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.35

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Friendly Fire
Fiction, Literature, Short Stories
Alaa Al Aswany has won resounding critical acclaim for his deft and moving portrayals of the lives of contemporary Egyptians who constantly examine their relationship with Egypt's history, religion, class, and gender distinctions. In Friendly Fire he once again demonstrates an extraordinary empathy for lost and searching souls as he focuses on the exquisite emotions of everyday life. In "The Kitchen Boy" and "Dearest Sister Makarim," Al Aswany explores the hypocrisy of the class divide. The brief and tender "Izzat Amin Iskandar" is a heartrending view of youthful hope. And in the unforgettable novella "The Isam Abd el-Ati Papers," the narrator carries us along a troubling journey through his painful relationships with his artist father and his self-centered mother, en route to a devastating collision of temptation and morality. Here are stories of generational conflict, love, repression, and the clash of Western and Arab ideals, all beautifully rendered by a true modern master.
2009
The Yacoubian Building
2004
Automobile Club of Egypt
Egypt, fiction, Fiction, historical, Fiction, sagas
2012
Republic of False Truths
Middle eastern philology, Fiction, FICTION / War & Military
2021
The Yacoubian Building
Fiction, Social life and customs, Manners and customs
This controversial bestselling novel in the Arab world reveals the political corruption, sexual repression, religious extremism, and modern hopes of Egypt today.All manner of flawed and fragile humanity reside in the Yacoubian Building, a once-elegant temple of Art Deco splendor now slowly decaying in the smog and bustle of downtown Cairo: a fading aristocrat and self-proclaimed "scientist of women"; a sultry, voluptuous siren; a devout young student, feeling the irresistible pull toward fundamentalism; a newspaper editor helplessly in love with a policeman; a corrupt and corpulent politician, twisting the Koran to justify his desires.These disparate lives careen toward an explosive conclusion in Alaa Al Aswany's remarkable international bestseller. Teeming with frank sexuality and heartfelt compassion, this book is an important window on to the experience of loss and love in the Arab world.
2005
Chicago
Fiction, thrillers, suspense, Teachers, fiction, African americans, fiction
2008

Page views of Alaa Al Aswanies by language

Over the past year Alaa Al Aswany has had the most page views in the with 27,681 views, followed by English (18,434), and French (8,813). In terms of yearly growth of page views the top 3 wikpedia editions are Southern Azerbaijani (66.67%), Malagasy (60.58%), and Armenian (59.09%)

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Alaa Al Aswany ranks 4,043 out of 7,302. Before him are Michael Denis, Arno Holz, Pyotr Vyazemsky, Yahya Kemal Beyatlı, Zenta Mauriņa, and V. C. Andrews. After him are Ivan Shmelyov, Simon Leys, Cecco Angiolieri, Karel Teige, Anna Langfus, and Bret Harte.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1957, Alaa Al Aswany ranks 192. Before him are Adri van Tiggelen, Tad Williams, Carlos Renato Frederico, Fulvio Collovati, Isaach de Bankolé, and Gamal Al-Ghandour. After him are Timothy Treadwell, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Bojan Križaj, David Crane, K. Sivan, and Lothaire Bluteau.

Others Born in 1957

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In Egypt

Among people born in Egypt, Alaa Al Aswany ranks 461 out of 642. Before him are Atom Egoyan (1960), Thrasyllus of Mendes (-100), Hossam Hassan (1966), Pope Kedron of Alexandria (100), Stéphanos II Ghattas (1920), and Gamal Al-Ghandour (1957). After him are Mustafa Ben Halim (1921), Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni (1940), Aisha Taymur (1840), Abu Ayyub al-Masri (1968), Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu (1889), and Andrée Chedid (1920).

Others born in Egypt

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Among WRITERS In Egypt

Among writers born in Egypt, Alaa Al Aswany ranks 47. Before him are André Aciman (1951), Malak Hifni Nasif (1886), Doria Shafik (1908), Bat Ye'or (1933), Hafez Ibrahim (1872), and Yusuf Idris (1927). After him are Aisha Taymur (1840), Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu (1889), Andrée Chedid (1920), Penelope Delta (1874), Gamal El-Ghitani (1945), and Latifa al-Zayyat (1923).

Egyptian born Writers

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