Review by vviall -- Gates to Tangier by Mois Benarroch
[Following is a volunteer review of "Gates to Tangier" by Mois Benarroch.]
"Gates to Tangier" was written by Mois Benarroch and translated by Sara Maria Hasbun. This book is about a fairly typical family. It happens to be about a Jewish family. For those not familiar with the Jewish style of writing or idioms, it may prove to be difficult to get through the first few chapters. Make no mistake, keep going; it is worth the effort.
The story begins in a law office in Jerusalem. The Benzimra family has buried their father and have now gathered in the office of the family attorney to hear the will and its terms.
The family consists of their mother, Estrella, and the four surviving siblings: Messod, David, Isaque, Alberto and Silvia. Their youngest brother, Israel, was killed in the war.
The family grew up in Tetuan, Morocco. They later emigrated to Jerusalem. The siblings, however, have scattered all around the globe. Therein, lies much of the entertainment and angst at the center of the story: how four siblings now live in different parts of the world and deal with the father's death and the bombshell he left for them in his will.
Sharing the bombshell will not ruin the story for you. Mr. Benzimra fathered an illegitimate son by a Muslim woman. That woman also happened to be one of the family's fatimas. A fatima would be our equivalent to a nanny.
Mr. Benzimra had put his inheritance in a bank account that shall remain locked for five years to allow his children to meet the condition of his will. He directs his children to find and meet his illegtimate son.
To help you out, dear Reader, each chapter is written by one of the children. So the first few chapters are to introduce you to each child and provide the necessary religious and cultural background to understand the angst of the story.
Without giving away the ending, the story will also include chapters by the dead son, Israel. It will also introduce additional characters such as Marcel Benzimra (a distant relative), of course the half-sibling, Yosef and a young woman named Zohra.
Because each sibling now lives in a different part of the world, they are strongly influenced by the new cultures in which they live. Though family, they are no longer the close family they once were.
Still, they accept their father's challenge and travel to Tetuan together in search of Yosef. Each is dealing with their new found knowledge of a half-brother differently and working through the shock of this discovery.
By this point, any difficulties in reading this book will have vanished. The story will grab the reader by this point and it will be impossible to put the book down.
By the end of the book, the reader will have a new understanding of what it means to be Jewish, the difference between Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews and the interactions between Muslims and Jews who live together day in and day out.
Though the ending is hinted at throughout the story, it still holds a surprise at the end and will leave readers wanting more!
I rate this story 3 out of 4 stars. The only reason I didn't give it 4 stars is because it was a difficult book to begin with. However, as stated above, it is well worth finishing.
******
Gates to Tangier
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
The story begins in a law office in Jerusalem. The Benzimra family has buried their father and have now gathered in the office of the family attorney to hear the will and its terms.
The family consists of their mother, Estrella, and the four surviving siblings: Messod, David, Isaque, Alberto and Silvia. Their youngest brother, Israel, was killed in the war.
The family grew up in Tetuan, Morocco. They later emigrated to Jerusalem. The siblings, however, have scattered all around the globe. Therein, lies much of the entertainment and angst at the center of the story: how four siblings now live in different parts of the world and deal with the father's death and the bombshell he left for them in his will.
Sharing the bombshell will not ruin the story for you. Mr. Benzimra fathered an illegitimate son by a Muslim woman. That woman also happened to be one of the family's fatimas. A fatima would be our equivalent to a nanny.
Mr. Benzimra had put his inheritance in a bank account that shall remain locked for five years to allow his children to meet the condition of his will. He directs his children to find and meet his illegtimate son.
To help you out, dear Reader, each chapter is written by one of the children. So the first few chapters are to introduce you to each child and provide the necessary religious and cultural background to understand the angst of the story.
Without giving away the ending, the story will also include chapters by the dead son, Israel. It will also introduce additional characters such as Marcel Benzimra (a distant relative), of course the half-sibling, Yosef and a young woman named Zohra.
Because each sibling now lives in a different part of the world, they are strongly influenced by the new cultures in which they live. Though family, they are no longer the close family they once were.
Still, they accept their father's challenge and travel to Tetuan together in search of Yosef. Each is dealing with their new found knowledge of a half-brother differently and working through the shock of this discovery.
By this point, any difficulties in reading this book will have vanished. The story will grab the reader by this point and it will be impossible to put the book down.
By the end of the book, the reader will have a new understanding of what it means to be Jewish, the difference between Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews and the interactions between Muslims and Jews who live together day in and day out.
Though the ending is hinted at throughout the story, it still holds a surprise at the end and will leave readers wanting more!
I rate this story 3 out of 4 stars. The only reason I didn't give it 4 stars is because it was a difficult book to begin with. However, as stated above, it is well worth finishing.
******
Gates to Tangier
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Read Gates to Tangier in
English: GETBOOK.AT/GATES2TANGIER
Español GETBOOK.AT/PUERTASTANGER
Francais: GETBOOK.AT/PORTESdeTANGER
Portugues: GETBOOK.AT/PORTaSdeTANGER
Italiano : getBook.at/PORTEdiTANGERI
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