Birds of Amber - Ibrahim Abdel Meguid 2005

A "Balzacien" look at Alexandrian society during and immediately following the Suez Crisis in 1956.  There is some direct exploration of the current social and ethnic issues but I mostly enjoyed the rich collection of characters which is developed in the course of the novel.  These characters all cross paths in a particular arab neighbourhood but occupy a variety of economic and social niches - some also move in different ethnic, political and social circles outside the arabic neighbourhood.  As you read you get a sense of the different points of view and ways of conceiving the world within arabic egyptian society of the time.  It is not a political novel - as the european, greek and jewish communities leave, it is interesting to see the emotional reaction of the various characters in the book.  One particular thread crosses into the world of classical arabic music performance, and also looks a bit at the police state element of Nasser's early years.

A bit disjointed, as one critic mentioned, but for me that is part of the charm.

To find:
No One Sleeps in Alexandria
The Other Place

There is also a long list of arabic authors published by the same company in the back of the book.