Review by Rachaella Ingenium -- Keys to Tetouan
3 out of 4 stars
Review by Rachaella
Keys to Tetouan is a historical fiction by Mois Benarroch and the main themes portrayed in this wonderful piece of literature include life, religion and ethnicity.
The book is set in Tetouan, a city in Morocco, it spans a story that goes as far back as 1492 when the Spanish chased the Jews from Spain to when they settle in a small town by the Mediterranean. It is a story of the Benzimra family that has many descendants who are scattered around the world in Madrid, New York, The Amazons, Venezuela, Caracas, Jerusalem, Paris and London.
It reflects on the family’s search for their place to call home, a place where they are not discriminated for their religion or ancestry, a place where they don’t feel like exiles, where they fit in and are not the “others”.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I give it three stars instead of four because there are some typos that confuse the reader, like the use of launch to mean lunch or Show in reference to Bernard Shaw. I also give it three stars because I believe that the reader would have got a better understanding of the Benzimra family if provided with a family tree since there are many Mois, Moshe and Moises related names in the family and this can confuse the reader. Also, I was bothered by the occasional and abrupt changes of point of views from young Moshe, to David, then old Moshe and Mimon which can get really confusing and disrupts the general flow of the book.
I agree with the author on his views of tolerance and ethnic discrimination. I accept that all humans come from somewhere and have ancestors but I also believe that it is not a basis to be judged just because you have Jewish ancestry, because your name is a little bit different from other common names. I believe that Jews and Arabs can live near each other and not fight. All they have to do is acknowledge that they are humans first before anything else. They should learn to tolerate each other regardless of their clashes in the past. On the other hand, I think the Ashkenazim and Sephardim should stand together in love as Jews regardless of their different ethnicities and origins.
In conclusion, the new generation of the Benzimra family should not forget their ancestors but like little David try to learn from them. They should learn not to commit the same mistakes, to persevere through different trials that will come their way like their ancestors before them, to sacrifice for what they believe in, like the Jews who left Spain novelty to settle in Tetouan. But more than anything, they should not be afraid to be different, to be Jewish and more specifically to be a Benzimra. To embrace it and be part of its great heritage. It is a wonderful book and I encourage everyone to read it.
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Keys to Tetouan
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