The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany

Very Good! Sensitively written with interesting characters that you really care about.

This book caught my eye in the local bookshop and looked intriguing. I wasn't disappointed and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed The Kite Runner or God of Small Things.

It's set in Cairo around the time of the first Gulf War and describes the lives of the people living in the Yacoubian building. Some people live in poverty in the roof, while others live in the faded glory of the apartments. The book ties in the lives of a varied group of people, from Taha the doorman's son to Zaki Bey, an aging playboy clinging on to his aristocratic past.

None of the people in the book are "perfect" or do the "right" thing; they are alive and real from the first pages. The writer does a good job of drawing you into the characters, making you care about them and their struggles or triumphs.

My favourite character was Busayna, a young woman from a very poor family. She has no choice but to put up with the advances of lecherous employers, and she faces these ordeals pragmatically in order to support her family. However, day by day her bitterness grows and you can almost feel her self-belief ebbing away. How she reconciles what she has to do to survive with her deep, sincere religious beliefs is sad and sharp at the same time.

The book was originally written in Arabic and was the bestselling Arabic novel in 2002 and 2003. I knew this when I started reading, so I was surprised by the sympathetically written description of homosexuality. It addresses corruption, Islamic fundamentalism as well as human weaknesses and strengths. Read it!!! It's really good!

Hooray!

Hey, do you guys remember me talking about entering some competitions awhile ago?

Well, guess what! My product won first prize!!

It was announced at a black-tie awards ceremony a few nights ago in a central london hotel. I hadn't heard anything for ages so I assumed that we hadn't won anything, but then last week I got a phone call saying - uh, are you actually coming to the ceremony, because you might have won something. None of the Directors could make it so it was just me and one other person, luckily I managed to fill a table of 8 with industry guests.

The speeches themselves were incredibly boring and my guests had that "eyes glazed over" look during some of the more technical speeches.

Nevermind, I've won!!

Why can't I be.....

I wish I could wake up tomorrow as Elektra. The movie with Jennifer Garner as Elektra was on TV last night.

Why can't I be a super-fit, stunning martial arts expert with superpowers? Why? Why?

Slippery Slope

On Sunday we had a look around the Canary Wharf area. I particularly like this building with a sloping roof.





The building is part of a private development and there security guards eyeing us up as we tried to walk around inconspicuously. Obviously we look too scummy to be residents, hahaha.

Saturday

I met my cousin at Victoria Station, dumped his bags in the left luggage and headed on to Charing Cross Road for some dimsum lunch. Victoria station was in chaos, so I gave up and we got a taxi instead.

Mr K-E joined us in the afternoon and we wandered around Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square for a bit. The usual protests were on - this time for Burma.

Doesn't Mr K-E have a lovely eye for a shot? Look at Nelson framed dramatically against that sky.

Then we headed to Harrods. Aaahh, Harrods - home of overpriced plastic shopping bags and expensive biscuits that you buy for folks back home. Yep, I bought one of those tacky vinyl bags that says "Harrods" on it as a gift for a cousin back home. No point trying to resist. Just pay the money and move on. :)

I haven't been to Harrods for years, so I had forgotten how OTT it is. I certainly don't remember this bust of Pharoah Mohamad Al-Fayed. The man really has no shame.

Ego-tastic!

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

Made me smile. A "typical" Bill Bryson, sweet and charming. But is it getting a bit same-y?

You know where you are with Bill Bryson and this book doesn't spring any surprises on you. It's an account of Bill's small town childhood and describes his amily, his teachers, neighbourhood, pranks etc.

Despite his best efforts at making them seem weird or unusual, his family are hardly that interesting. It all seemed very white-bread to me. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy the book. Just that it's not as fresh as the first Bryson I ever read which made me snort with laughter.

If you enjoyed his other books then you might as well read this one too. If you have never read any of his books, then it's probably best to start with The Lost Continent or Notes from a Small Island.

Friday evening

Is it Friday already? Where has the week gone? Mr K-E is away tonight; he has been white water rafting with his work colleagues and is staying overnight in Nottingham.

He had a big night out planned with his gang, and I certainly wouldn't want to get in his way!

Tomorrow my cousin is coming over for a few days. We have cleaned and tidied up the flat; only the bathroom is left to do. I just can't bring myself to do it tonight - the plan is, get up early and whizz through it before heading to meet cousin at Victoria station. Aaah, housework.