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Summary
Summary
"A dream of a debut, by turns troubling and glorious, angry and wise." --Junot Diaz
Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, the debut of Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist Laila Lalami, evokes the grit and enduring grace that is modern Morocco. The book begins as four Moroccans illegally cross the Strait of Gibraltar in an inflatable boat headed for Spain.What has driven them to risk their lives? And will the rewards prove to be worth the danger?
There's Murad, a gentle, unemployed man who's been reduced to hustling tourists around Tangier; Halima, who's fleeing her drunken husband and the slums of Casablanca; Aziz, who must leave behind his devoted wife in hope of securing work in Spain; and Faten, a student and religious fanatic whose faith is at odds with an influential man determined to destroy her future.
Sensitively written with beauty and boldness, this is a gripping book about what propels people to risk their lives in search of a better future.
Author Notes
Laila Lalami was born and raised in Morocco. She is the author of the short story collection Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits and the novels Secret Son and The Moor's Account. Her essays and opinion pieces have appeared in several publications including the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Nation, The Guardian, and The New York Times. She is an associate professor of creative writing at the University of California at Riverside.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
The four main characters of this linked series of fictional profiles are connected by a single goal: the desire to emigrate from Morocco to Spain, where there are jobs. Lalami, author of the literary blog moorishgirl.com, opens her book with the four (along with several others) illegally crossing the Strait of Gibraltar in a tiny inflatable raft; when it capsizes near shore, it is everyone for themselves. The next four chapters flash back to their varying lives in Morocco: Faten, a lower-class, college-aged woman appears only through the eyes of middle-class friend Noura's parents, who are horror-stricken as Noura falls under Faten's influence and begins wearing the hijab; Halima, a financially struggling mother who, with her children, is escaping an abusive marriage; Aziz Ammor, who hopes to support his wife by finding work in Spain; and Murad, a college graduate who makes pocket money by taking Paul Bowles fans on informal tours. The four following chapters detail, with sensitivity and journalistic clarity, their lives after the trip across the Strait. Less a novel than a set of finely detailed portraits, this book gives outsiders a glimpse of some of Moroccan society's strata and the desperation that underlies many ordinary lives. Agent, Stephanie Abou at the Joy Harris Agency. (Oct. 7) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
In the overture to this compelling collection of linked short stories, Moroccans desperate for better lives take the risk of trusting a smuggler to carry them across the Strait of Gibraltar to Spain. First-time author Lalami then circles back to tell the stories of what led up to their attempted escapes and reveals what follows their harrowing journeys, offering telling glimpses into contemporary Morocco and perceptive renderings of the troubles that force people to leave the world they know for a strange and hostile place. Writing with entrancing lucidity and perfect pacing, Lalami deftly portrays Murad, who studied English literature yet is reduced to offering himself as a guide to tourists seeking the haunts of writer Paul Bowles; Halima, who must take radical steps to escape her violent and impecunious husband; and poor, seemingly radically pious yet hypocritical Faten, who cannot find respectable employment. Lalami's story lines are evocative, her characters arresting, the settings vivid, and her voice pure and penetrating, ensuring that these striking tales of unsanctioned journeys and urgently improvised lives are at once timely and timeless. --Donna Seaman Copyright 2005 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Adult/High School-This contemporary tale opens with 30 people huddled in an inflatable lifeboat meant to hold 8, attempting illegally to cross the Strait of Gibraltar from Tangier to Spain. Lalami explores the lives of four of these travelers, from the circumstances that led up to their being in that boat, to the lives they make for themselves after their attempted crossing is thwarted by the Spanish border's Guardia Civil. Murad lives with his mother and younger siblings. Although he has a degree in English and speaks fluent Spanish, his life consists of hustling American and British tourists to various points of interest in Morocco. Halima, married with two young sons, works as a janitor to make ends meet while her husband drinks her earnings away and beats her in frustration. She sees the trip as her one chance at escape. Faten, an outspoken university student, crosses paths with an education administrator and finds herself expelled from school. Aziz, tired of seeing his wife go off to work while he cannot find employment, dreams of making a life in Spain and bringing his wife over once he is established. Two of these four characters avoid the Guardia Civil; two of them do not. Each learns that ultimately success has little to do with location and everything to do with smaller, day-to-day decisions. With a softness and lyricism that belie the fact that this is a first novel, the narrative introduces readers to beautifully drawn characters who make for a gem of a tale.-Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Library System, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Ambitious debut about a group of young Moroccans looking for jobs and a better life. Lalami sets the stage for her interlinked tales with the section "The Trip," which introduces Murad, Faten, Aziz and Halima (and her children), all packed together on an inflatable boat illegally crossing the Strait Gibraltar into Spain. Part I: Before explains what made these people risk everything to leave Morocco. Twentysomething Murad was an under-employed tour guide; Faten flunked her college exams; Aziz wanted to make more money and shut up his censorious in-laws; Halima needed to escape an abusive husband. Part II: After revisits the characters, revealing their fates and their transformations following their plunge into the waters 250 meters off the Spanish coast. In the final story, sensitive, educated, English-speaking Murad gets a job as a salesman in a Tangier gift shop. There, he relates a magical, ancient tale to two tourists. First told to Murad by his father, it is a love story of beauty and revenge, providing the author an opportunity to sing her feelings for Islam, its people and its ancient culture. This intense portrait of a gorgeous, once-powerful civilization stands in stark relief to the modern society Lalami skillfully depicts with gritty realism in an omniscient narration. As her characters debate hot-button issues--How much Western culture is too much? Should women wear headscarves?--their individual points of view are presented so evenhandedly that readers are left to wonder which of these opinions are actually held by the Moroccan-born writer, who now lives in Oregon. Flawed but impressive: This could well be the preamble to an important body of work. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Lalami's first novel is made up of linked short stories that bear witness to the human spirit and perseverance. In "The Trip," the opening piece, 30 people, mostly Moroccans, huddle together in an inflatable rubber boat en route to the Spanish coast. Unfortunately, the boatman reneges on his agreement to drop them off at the shore; the only choice is to swim the remaining distance to Tarifa. Halima, a battered wife with three children and not a strong swimmer, starts to panic until her ten-year-old son, Farid, finds a stick and pulls her to safety only for them to be confronted with the Spanish police. "Better Luck Tomorrow" tells the story of sweet, friendly Murad, a guide in Tangier who does not swoop down on tourists like his competitors; instead, he gently approaches a few of them with the line, "Interested in Paul Bowles?" If they are not, he offers to take them to a market, a palace, a fancy hotel, or a museum. "The Fanatic" portrays a young Muslim woman, Faten, who tries to influence her best friend, Mouna, to adopt her fundamentalist beliefs. Lalami's characters are believable, sympathetic, and quite ordinary, nurturing hopes and dreams of a better life in the face of harsh conditions. An eloquent, fascinating glimpse into Moroccan culture and traditions, this debut is highly recommended for academic and large public libraries.-Lisa Nussbaum, Dauphin Cty. Lib. Syst., Harrisburg, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Excerpts
Excerpts
The FanaticLARBI AMRANI DIDNT consider himself a superstitious man, but when the prayer beads that hung on his rearview mirror broke, he found himself worrying that this could be an omen. His mother had given him the sandalwood beads on his college graduation, shortly before her death, advising him to use them often. At first Larbi had carried the beads in his pocket, fingered them after every prayer, but as the years went by hed reached for them with decreasing regularity, until one day they ended up as decoration in his car. Now they lay scattered, amber dots on the black floor mats. He picked up as many as he could find and put them in the cup holder, hoping to get them fixed later. He eased the Mercedes down the driveway and into the quiet, tree-lined street. Traffic was unusually light, even when he passed through the crenellated fortress walls at Bab Rouah.In his office at the Moroccan Ministry of Education, he opened up the days Al-Alam and asked the chaouch to bring him a glass of mint tea. In a few minutes he would tackle another pile of dossiers, deciding where newly graduated teachers would perform their two years of civil service, but for now he took his time reading the paper and sipping his tea. The headlines announced a train workers strike and yet another hike in the prices of milk and flour, so he skipped to the sports page.Before he could read the weekend football scores, his secretary buzzed him to announce that he had a visitor. Larbi put the paper away and stood up to welcome Si Tawfiq, an old friend he hadnt seen in fifteen years. (Or was it fourteen?) They had lived next door to each other in a new apartment complex in downtown Rabat, but after moving out to the suburbs they had lost touch. Si Tawfiq entered the room cloaked in his white burnous, even on this warm September day. After salaams and other pleasantries had been exchanged, Tawfiq cleared his throat. Its about my niece. Shes finishing her degree next summer. His protruding eyes, the result of a thyroid condition, made Larbi uncomfortable.Congratulations, Larbi said.And she wants a job in Rabat. Tawfiq smiled knowingly.Larbi tried to conceal his annoyance. The greatest need for teachers was in smaller towns and in the forgotten villages of the Atlas Mountains.I was hoping you could help her, Tawfiq added.I wish I could, Si Tawfiq, Larbi began. But we have so few jobs in the city these days. The waiting list is this thick. He held his fingers wide apart, as if he were talking about the phone book.I understand, Tawfiq said. Of course, we would try to do anything we could to help you.Larbi stroked the ends of his thin mustache, twisting them upward. He was not above taking the occasional bribe, but he recalled the mornings omen. Please, he said, holding up his palms. Theres no need. He cleared his throat and added weakly, Im happy to serve all teachers. Its just that when so many people want the same thing, it becomes impossible to get all of them Excerpted from Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits by Laila Lalami All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
Table of Contents
| Contents the trip |
| Part I |
| Part II |
| Acknowledgments |
