Popular Moroccan Books

15+ [Hand Picked] Popular Books On Moroccan

3.8/5

الخبز الحافي by محمد شكري , Mohamed Choukri

سيرة ذاتية روائية 1935 - 1956 لم يتعلم محمد شكري القراءة والكتابة حتى العشرين من عمره, فكانت حداثته انجرافاً في عالم البؤس حيث العنف وحده قوت المبدعين اليومي. هروب من أب يكره أولاده (فقد قتل أحد أبنائه في لحظة غضب), شرود في أزقة مظلمة وخطرة بحثاً عن الطعام القليل, أو عن زاوية لينام فيها, واكتشاف لدنيا السارقين والمدمنين على السكر, تلك هي عناوين حقبة تفتقر إلى الخبز والحنان. ه سيرة ذاتية روائية 1935 - 1956 لم يتعلم محمد شكري القراءة والكتابة حتى العشرين من عمره, فكانت حداثته انجرافاً في عالم البؤس حيث العنف وحده قوت المبدعين اليومي. هروب من أب يكره أولاده (فقد قتل أحد أبنائه في لحظة غضب), شرود في أزقة مظلمة وخطرة بحثاً عن الطعام القليل, أو عن زاوية لينام فيها, واكتشاف لدنيا السارقين والمدمنين على السكر, تلك هي عناوين حقبة تفتقر إلى الخبز والحنان. هذا العرض لسيرته الذاتية نص مؤثر وعمل يحتل موقعاً متميزاً في الأدب العربي المعاصر. وليس صدفة أنه نشر بعدة لغات أوروبية كثيرة مثل الإنكليزية أو الإسبانية, قبل نشره بلغته الأصلية العربية

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4.4/5

The Moor's Account by Laila Lalami

In 1527, the conquistador Pánfilo de Narváez sailed from the port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda with a crew of six hundred men and nearly a hundred horses. His goal was to claim what is now the Gulf Coast of the United States for the Spanish crown and, in the process, become as wealthy and famous as Hernán Cortés. But from the moment the Narváez expedition landed in Florida, it In 1527, the conquistador Pánfilo de Narváez sailed from the port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda with a crew of six hundred men and nearly a hundred horses. His goal was to claim what is now the Gulf Coast of the United States for the Spanish crown and, in the process, become as wealthy and famous as Hernán Cortés. But from the moment the Narváez expedition landed in Florida, it faced peril—navigational errors, disease, starvation, as well as resistance from indigenous tribes. Within a year there were only four survivors: the expedition’s treasurer, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca; a Spanish nobleman named Alonso del Castillo Maldonado; a young explorer named Andrés Dorantes de Carranza; and Dorantes’s Moroccan slave, Mustafa al-Zamori, whom the three Spaniards called Estebanico. These four survivors would go on to make a journey across America that would transform them from proud conquistadores to humble servants, from fearful outcasts to faith healers.

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3.9/5

تلك العتمة الباهرة by Tahar Ben Jelloun , الطاهر بن جلون , بسام حجار (translator)

مصابي جليل، والعزاء جميل، ... وظني بأن الله سوف يديل جراح وأسر، واشتياق، وغربة... أحمل إني، بعدها، لحمول وإني، في هذا الصباح، لصالح،... ولكن خطي في الظلام جليل إذا أردتَ أن تعلَمَ قسوةَ السجّان، وتواطؤ السجن عليك، فأسأل سجين، أو ذويه إذا أردتَ أن تتذوَق صِدق المعاناة، وتتذوّق طعمَ الحياة الآخَر، فرجاءً لا تقرأ رواية عن الحبّ السرمديّ، ولكِن إقرأ في أدبِ السجون رواية الطاهر بن جلّ مصابي جليل، والعزاء جميل، ... وظني بأن الله سوف يديل جراح وأسر، واشتياق، وغربة... أحمل إني، بعدها، لحمول وإني، في هذا الصباح، لصالح،... ولكن خطي في الظلام جليل إذا أردتَ أن تعلَمَ قسوةَ السجّان، وتواطؤ السجن عليك، فأسأل سجين، أو ذويه إذا أردتَ أن تتذوَق صِدق المعاناة، وتتذوّق طعمَ الحياة الآخَر، فرجاءً لا تقرأ رواية عن الحبّ السرمديّ، ولكِن إقرأ في أدبِ السجون رواية الطاهر بن جلّون هذه، مقتبسة عن الحقيقة، يروي لنا سجيننا معاناته، في الزنزانة "ب" مع 23 سجين غيره، ويقصّ علينا بأسلوب "باهِر" موتَ المعظم الساحِق من أصدقائه، وظروف موتهم سُجِنوا لمحاولتهم الإنقلاب على الملك المغربي الحسن الثاني، في إنقلاب الصخيرات الشهير في 10 آب 1971 الكلمات لم تستعصِ على الطاهِر بن جلّون لوصف الحفرة -الحبس- الذي دفنوا فيهِ أحياء، على مدار 18 عاماً لم يفقدوا إيمانهم بالله، وبقيَت ألسنهم رطبى بالقرآن والحديثِ الحسن إرتقوا فوق عذاباتهم الجسمية، إرتقوا فوق الجوع، فوقَ التقتير، فوق الضيق، فوق العتمة، فوقَ العقارِب والصراصير، وفوقَ سخرية السجّان وفي النهايَة، يتواطؤ السجّان مع سجينه، ويبدأ نموّ أمل الحرية، بعدَ أن قتلوه هيَ فعلاً رواية باهِرة، فوقَ الوصف جميلة، مؤلمة، ولا ترتوي منها

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4.9/5

The Curious Case of Dassoukine’s Trousers by Fouad Laroui , Emma Ramadan (Translation) , Laila Lalami (Introduction)

This long-awaited English-language debut from Morocco's most prominent contemporary writer won the Prix Gouncourt de Nouvelles, France's most prestigious literary award, for best story collection. Laroui uses surrealism, laugh-out-loud humor, and profound compassion across a variety of literary styles to highlight the absurdity of the human condition, exploring the realiti This long-awaited English-language debut from Morocco's most prominent contemporary writer won the Prix Gouncourt de Nouvelles, France's most prestigious literary award, for best story collection. Laroui uses surrealism, laugh-out-loud humor, and profound compassion across a variety of literary styles to highlight the absurdity of the human condition, exploring the realities of life in a world where everything is foreign. Fouad Laroui has published over twenty novels and collections of short stories, poetry, and essays. Laroui teaches econometrics and environmental science at the University of Amsterdam, and lives between Amsterdam, Paris, and Casablanca.

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4/5

The Sacred Night by Tahar Ben Jelloun

The Sacred Night continues the remarkable story Tahar Ben Jelloun began in The Sand Child. Mohammed Ahmed, a Moroccan girl raised as a boy in order to circumvent Islamic inheritance laws regarding female children, remains deeply conflicted about her identity. In a narrative that shifts in and out of reality moving between a mysterious present and a painful past, Ben Jellou The Sacred Night continues the remarkable story Tahar Ben Jelloun began in The Sand Child. Mohammed Ahmed, a Moroccan girl raised as a boy in order to circumvent Islamic inheritance laws regarding female children, remains deeply conflicted about her identity. In a narrative that shifts in and out of reality moving between a mysterious present and a painful past, Ben Jelloun relates the events of Ahmed's adult life. Now calling herself Zahra, she renounces her role as only son and heir after her father's death and journeys through a dreamlike Moroccan landscape. A searing allegorical portrait of North African society, The Sacred Night uses Arabic fairy tales and surrealist elements to craft a stunning and disturbing vision of protest and rebellion against the strictures of hidebound traditions governing gender roles and sexuality.

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4.5/5

The Sand Child by Tahar Ben Jelloun , Alan Sheridan (Translator)

In this lyrical, hallucinatory novel set in Morocco, Tahar Ben Jelloun offers an imaginative and radical critique of contemporary Arab social customs and Islamic law. The Sand Child tells the story of a Moroccan father's effort to thwart the consequences of Islam's inheritance laws regarding female offspring. Already the father of seven daughters, Hajji Ahmed determines th In this lyrical, hallucinatory novel set in Morocco, Tahar Ben Jelloun offers an imaginative and radical critique of contemporary Arab social customs and Islamic law. The Sand Child tells the story of a Moroccan father's effort to thwart the consequences of Islam's inheritance laws regarding female offspring. Already the father of seven daughters, Hajji Ahmed determines that his eighth child will be a male. Accordingly, the infant, a girl, is named Mohammed Ahmed and raised as a young man with all the privileges granted exclusively to men in traditional Arab-Islamic societies. As she matures, however, Ahmed's desire to have children marks the beginning of her sexual evolution, and as a woman named Zahra, Ahmed begins to explore her true sexual identity. Drawing on the rich Arabic oral tradition, Ben Jelloun relates the extraordinary events of Ahmed's life through a professional storyteller and the listeners who have gathered in a Marrakesh market square in the 1950s to hear his tale. A poetic vision of power, colonialism, and gender in North Africa, The Sand Child has been justifiably celebrated around the world as a daring and significant work of international fiction.

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5/5

Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon by Claudia Roden

In the 1960s Claudia Roden introduced Americans to a new world of tastes in her classic A Book of Middle Eastern Food. Now, in her enchanting new book, Arabesque, she revisits the three countries with the most exciting cuisines today—Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon. Interweaving history, stories, and her own observations, she gives us 150 of the most delectable recipes: some In the 1960s Claudia Roden introduced Americans to a new world of tastes in her classic A Book of Middle Eastern Food. Now, in her enchanting new book, Arabesque, she revisits the three countries with the most exciting cuisines today—Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon. Interweaving history, stories, and her own observations, she gives us 150 of the most delectable recipes: some of them new discoveries, some reworkings of classic dishes—all of them made even more accessible and delicious for today’s home cook. From Morocco, the most exquisite and refined cuisine of North Africa: couscous dishes; multilayered pies; delicately flavored tagines; ways of marrying meat, poultry, or fish with fruit to create extraordinary combinations of spicy, savory, and sweet. From Turkey, a highly sophisticated cuisine that dates back to the Ottoman Empire yet reflects many new influences today: a delicious array of kebabs, fillo pies, eggplant dishes in many guises, bulgur and chickpea salads, stuffed grape leaves and peppers, and sweet puddings. From Lebanon, a cuisine of great diversity: a wide variety of mezze (those tempting appetizers that can make a meal all on their own); dishes featuring sun-drenched Middle Eastern vegetables and dried legumes; and national specialties such as kibbeh, meatballs with pine nuts, and lamb shanks with yogurt. Claudia Roden knows this part of the world so intimately that we delight in being in such good hands as she translates the subtle play of flavors and simple cooking techniques to our own home kitchens.

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4.4/5

Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail by Malika Oufkir , Michèle Fitoussi

A gripping memoir that reads like a political thriller--the story of Malika Oufkir's turbulent and remarkable life. Born in 1953, Malika Oufkir was the eldest daughter of General Oufkir, the King of Morocco's closest aide. Adopted by the king at the age of five, Malika spent most of her childhood and adolescence in the seclusion of the court harem, one of the most eligible A gripping memoir that reads like a political thriller--the story of Malika Oufkir's turbulent and remarkable life. Born in 1953, Malika Oufkir was the eldest daughter of General Oufkir, the King of Morocco's closest aide. Adopted by the king at the age of five, Malika spent most of her childhood and adolescence in the seclusion of the court harem, one of the most eligible heiresses in the kingdom, surrounded by luxury and extraordinary privilege. Then, on August 16, 1972, her father was arrested and executed after an attempt to assassinate the king. Malika, her five younger brothers and sisters. and her mother were immediately imprisoned in a desert penal colony. After fifteen years, the last ten of which they spent locked up in solitary cells, the Oufkir children managed to dig a tunnel with their bare hands and make an audacious escape. Recaptured after five days, Malika was finally able to leave Morocco and begin a new life in exile in 1996. A heartrending account in the face of extreme deprivation and the courage with which one family faced its fate, Stolen Lives is an unforgettable story of one woman's journey to freedom.

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4.7/5

Scheherazade Goes West: Different Cultures, Different Harems by Fatema Mernissi

Fatema Mernissi, the world-renowned Islamic feminist, has shed unprecedented light on the lives of women in the Middle East, in works hailed as "enchanting" (The New York Times Book Review), "exuberant" (Elle), and "remarkable" (The Washington Post Book World). Now, in Scheherazade Goes West, Mernissi reveals her unique experiences as a liberated, independent Moroccan woma Fatema Mernissi, the world-renowned Islamic feminist, has shed unprecedented light on the lives of women in the Middle East, in works hailed as "enchanting" (The New York Times Book Review), "exuberant" (Elle), and "remarkable" (The Washington Post Book World). Now, in Scheherazade Goes West, Mernissi reveals her unique experiences as a liberated, independent Moroccan woman faced with the peculiarities and unexpected encroachments of Western culture. Her often surprising discoveries about the conditions of and attitudes toward women around the world -- and the exquisitely embroidered amalgam of clear-eyed autobiography and dazzling meta-fiction by which she relates those assorted discoveries -- add up to a deliciously wry, engagingly cosmopolitan, and deeply penetrating narrative.

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4.1/5

Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood by Fatema Mernissi

The must-read true story of one Muslim girl's life in her family's French Moroccan harem, set against the backdrop of World War II "I was born in a harem in 1940 in Fez, Morocco..." So begins Fatima Mernissi in this illuminating narrative of a childhood behind the iron gates of a domestic harem. In Dreams of Trespass, Mernissi weaves her own memories with the dreams and me The must-read true story of one Muslim girl's life in her family's French Moroccan harem, set against the backdrop of World War II "I was born in a harem in 1940 in Fez, Morocco..." So begins Fatima Mernissi in this illuminating narrative of a childhood behind the iron gates of a domestic harem. In Dreams of Trespass, Mernissi weaves her own memories with the dreams and memories of the women who surrounded her in the courtyard of her youth -- women who, without access to the world outside, recreated it from sheer imagination. A beautifully written account of a girl confronting the mysteries of time and place, gender and sex, Dreams of Trespass illuminates what it was like to be a modern Muslim woman in a place steeped in tradition.

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3.8/5

Horses of God by Mahi Binebine , Lulu Norman (Translation)

On May 16, 2003, fourteen suicide bombers launched a series of attacks throughout Casablanca. It was the deadliest attack in Morocco’s history. The bombers came from the shantytowns of Sidi Moumen, a poor suburb on the edge of a dump whose impoverished residents rarely if ever set foot in the cosmopolitan city at their doorstep. Mahi Binebine’s novel Horses of God follows On May 16, 2003, fourteen suicide bombers launched a series of attacks throughout Casablanca. It was the deadliest attack in Morocco’s history. The bombers came from the shantytowns of Sidi Moumen, a poor suburb on the edge of a dump whose impoverished residents rarely if ever set foot in the cosmopolitan city at their doorstep. Mahi Binebine’s novel Horses of God follows four childhood friends growing up in Sidi Moumen as they make the life-changing decisions that will lead them to become Islamist martyrs. The seeds of fundamentalist martyrdom are sown in the dirt-poor lives of Yachine, Nabil, Fuad, and Ali, all raised in Sidi Moumen. The boys’ soccer team, The Stars of Sidi Moumen, is their main escape from the poverty, violence, and absence of hope that pervade their lives. When Yachine’s older brother Hamid falls under the spell of fundamentalist leader Abu Zoubeir, the attraction of a religion that offers discipline, purpose, and guidance to young men who have none of these things becomes too seductive to ignore. Narrated by Yachine from the afterlife, Horses of God portrays the sweet innocence of childhood and friendship as well as the challenges facing those with few opportunities for a better life. Binebine navigates the controversial situation with compassion, creating empathy for the boys, who believe they have no choice but to follow the path offered them. Winner of the 2010 Prix du Roman Arabe and Prix Littéraire Mamounia "The novel provides context and perspective to often little-explored issues, offering incredible insight into the complex lives of poor boys who are groomed to kill themselves for a cause and commit violent acts in the name of religion. Binebine portrays these young men as supremely human, victims of powers much larger than themselves, and like any Kafkaesque anti-hero, cogs in an incomprehensible and monstrous machine." --Starred Publishers Weekly "Moroccan painter, novelist, and former math teacher Binebine (Welcome to Paradise) writes with humor and pathos amid the novel’s grinding tragedy but never allows the narrative to veer into self-pity or cheap sentimentality. The book is based on the 2004 suicide bombings in Casablanca, and Binebine’s unblinking eye for detail makes this a haunting tale." --Library Journal

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4.3/5

The Happy Marriage by Tahar Ben Jelloun , Andre Nafis-Sahely (Translator)

“Ben Jelloun is arguably Morocco’s greatest living author, whose impressive body of work combines intellect and imagination in magical fusion.” —The Guardian In The Happy Marriage, the internationally acclaimed Moroccan author Tahar Ben Jelloun tells the story of one couple—first from the husband’s point of view, then from the wife’s—just as legal reforms are about to ch “Ben Jelloun is arguably Morocco’s greatest living author, whose impressive body of work combines intellect and imagination in magical fusion.” —The Guardian In The Happy Marriage, the internationally acclaimed Moroccan author Tahar Ben Jelloun tells the story of one couple—first from the husband’s point of view, then from the wife’s—just as legal reforms are about to change women’s rights forever. The husband, a painter in Casablanca, has been paralyzed by a stroke at the very height of his career and becomes convinced that his marriage is the sole reason for his decline. Walled up within his illness and desperate to break free of a deeply destructive relationship, he finds escape in writing a secret book about his hellish marriage. When his wife finds it, she responds point by point with her own version of the facts, offering her own striking and incisive reinterpretation of their story. Who is right and who is wrong? A thorny issue in a society where marriage remains a sacrosanct institution, but where there’s also a growing awareness of women’s rights. And in their absorbing struggle, both sides of this modern marriage find out they may not be so enlightened after all.

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4.2/5

حين تترنح ذاكرة أمي by Tahar Ben Jelloun , رشيد بن حدّو (Translator) , الطاهر بن جلون

"تحولت أمي منذ مرضها إلى كائن نحيل صغير ذي ذاكرة مترنحة. تنادي أفراد عائلتها الذين ماتوا من زمن بعيد. تكلمهم.يدهشها أن والدتها لا تزورها، وتثني على أخيها الصغير لأنه -كما تقول- يحمل إليها الهدايا. تنكفئ أمي إلى طفولتي. تتقهقر ذاكرتها. خارج الزمن تعيش منسحبة من الواقع. تسألني كل ربع ساعة"كم طفلاً عندي؟" وفي كل مرة أجيبها الجواب نفسه. أمي تخاف من كلثوم،امرأة تنم عيناها عن نوايا "تحولت أمي منذ مرضها إلى كائن نحيل صغير ذي ذاكرة مترنحة. تنادي أفراد عائلتها الذين ماتوا من زمن بعيد. تكلمهم.يدهشها أن والدتها لا تزورها، وتثني على أخيها الصغير لأنه -كما تقول- يحمل إليها الهدايا. تنكفئ أمي إلى طفولتي. تتقهقر ذاكرتها. خارج الزمن تعيش منسحبة من الواقع. تسألني كل ربع ساعة"كم طفلاً عندي؟" وفي كل مرة أجيبها الجواب نفسه. أمي تخاف من كلثوم،امرأة تنم عيناها عن نوايا خبيثة،هي تعرف أنني أرتاب من نظراتها.لذلك تنكس رأسها حين تكلمني. تتذلل لي حين تسلم علي. أتظاهر بعد الانتباه إلى كيدها. أرى الخوف في عيني أمي.الحوف من أن تتخلى كلثوم عنها حين يبقيان رأساً لرأس في المنزل. تقول لي أمي حين تكون في لحظة وعي "أنا لست حمقاء.كلثوم تعتقد أنني فتاة صغيرة، توبخني ، تهددني.لكنني أعرف أن مداومتي على الأدوية لها أثر يوهمني بأنها خبيثة،إنها بالعكس طيبة، كل ما في الأمر أن تفرغها للعناية بدأ يزعجها ويتعبها.لذلك لا حيلة لي سوى أن أغعمض عيني عن كثير من ردود أفعالها.

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4.9/5

Adèle by Leïla Slimani , Sam Taylor (Translator)

Adèle appears to have the perfect life: She is a successful journalist in Paris who lives in a beautiful apartment with her surgeon husband and their young son. But underneath the surface, she is bored--and consumed by an insatiable need for sex. Driven less by pleasure than compulsion, Adèle organizes her day around her extramarital affairs, arriving late to work and lying Adèle appears to have the perfect life: She is a successful journalist in Paris who lives in a beautiful apartment with her surgeon husband and their young son. But underneath the surface, she is bored--and consumed by an insatiable need for sex. Driven less by pleasure than compulsion, Adèle organizes her day around her extramarital affairs, arriving late to work and lying to her husband about where she's been, until she becomes ensnared in a trap of her own making. Suspenseful, erotic, and electrically charged, Adèle is a captivating exploration of addiction, sexuality, and one woman's quest to feel alive.

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4.6/5

La Boîte à merveilles by Ahmed Sefrioui

Ahmed Sefrioui, ou Sidi Mohammed, évoque son enfance passée à l'ancienne Médina de Fes. Il menait une vie tranquille auprès de sa mère, femme au foyer, et son père, tisserand.Il a consacré une bonne partie du livre à parler des voisins, des amis de la famille, de leurs habitudes, de leur problèmes et de leur vie quotidienne, et particulièrement de Lalla Aicha, la meilleure Ahmed Sefrioui, ou Sidi Mohammed, évoque son enfance passée à l'ancienne Médina de Fes. Il menait une vie tranquille auprès de sa mère, femme au foyer, et son père, tisserand.Il a consacré une bonne partie du livre à parler des voisins, des amis de la famille, de leurs habitudes, de leur problèmes et de leur vie quotidienne, et particulièrement de Lalla Aicha, la meilleure amie de samère, qui a souffert à cause de son mari ingras.La paisibilité de la vie de cet enfant de six ans fut troublée par la perte de la bourse de son père, une bourse qui contenait tout son capitale. Ce qui obligea le père de la famille à travailler dans les champs pour pouvoir reprendre ton travail.Pendant son absence, la mère et l'enfant visitaient quotidiennement des mauselées pour demander aux saints de leurs rendre le père sain et sauf.Leur voeux fut exocé un mois après le départ du père, ensuite les choses s'arrangèrent petit à petit.Au milieu de tous ces événements, la boite à merveilles que possédait Sidi Mohammed jouait un rôle très important, elle lui représentait un véritable réconfort quand il avait des ennuies, c'était synonyme d'accès à son propore monde.

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