Review by Mercy Bolo -- Keys to Tetouan by Mois Benarroch

 

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3 out of 4 stars

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Review by Mercy Bolo

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Keys to Tetouan by Mois Benarroch a historical fiction novel that follows the lives of various members of the Benzimra family. Their roots are in Tetouan, Morocco but as time progresses, some of them decide to seek greener pastures and migrate to other countries like Spain, Venezuela, Brazil and Israel. The book focuses on their experiences in their new home countries, family ties, an identity crisis and a longing for home.

When the Jewish nation of Israel is formed, many of the Benzimra family members decide to move to Israel so they can be together with other jews. It is a rude shock when they abandon their old lives and move to Israel only to find that they face discrimination because they come from an Arab majority country. Wherever the Benzimras are, they are considered the 'others'. In Tetouan, they are jews and elsewhere they are Moroccans. "As if there's something wrong with looking Moroccan." This blatant discrimination takes a toll on Jacob Benzimra who decides to change his name to Jacob Zemer to sound more Israeli. How his son reacts when he uncovers his family's history surely makes for a good read.

Moshe Benzimra visits Tetouan and buys the house he was born in. It becomes evident that he moved from Israel to Tetouan to die in the place he was born. His children don't understand why he made such a drastic decision as they consider Israel to be better than Morocco. This goes to show that east or west, home is best.

I liked the fact that this book tackles many of the issues we face in our world today. Rampant emigration has left a lot of people with an identity crisis as we still hold on to the stereotypes instilled in us. It is also shocking to the Benzimras when they arrive in Israel only to find that the Israelis don't coexist with the Arabs but back in Tetouan they lived side by side with Arabs for hundreds of years. It is true that coexistence isn't easy but it is possible. The holocaust is not the main focus of this book but it concentrates on how life moves on afterwards for the various jews.

Mois Bennarroch's writing style was new to me and I got a bit lost in the beginning. Once I got the hang of it, the poetry flowed smoothly and that enhanced my reading experience. I would recommend this book for both young adults and grown ups. Due to the few typos I encountered, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars and look forward to reading the rest of the books in this series.

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Keys to Tetouan 
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