House of Jasmine - Ibrahim Abdel Meguid

Like Al Aswany, Meguid creates a portrait of life in modern Egypt, a life of frustration and stagnation.  Meguid though, tends to create an impressionistic portrait of this life, mostly because it is more an interior portrait of a particular character and his life.  He doesn't have the social and political breadth of Al Aswany.  It is a very personal portrait where many of Aswany's themes and ideas are present, but as a background against which the character's life plays out.  Not as engaging as Al Aswany's writing.