Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Review -- Gates to Tangier by Mois Benarroch

Review by Braktooth -- Gates to Tangier by Mois Benarroch

Post Number:#1 by Braktooth » 21 Feb 2017, 09:31
[Following is a volunteer review of "Gates to Tangier" by Mois Benarroch.]

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Gates to Tangier is an interesting novel, while often being confusing at the same time. The author, Mois Benarroch, is an established poet and author who has won awards in Israel and is a best-seller in Spain. This novel, translated by Sara Maria Hasbun, is the last of a trilogy that follows a Jewish family who ends up moving from Morocco and spreads to different parts of the world.

The story begins with the reading of the recently deceased patriarch's will. It is here that the family discovers that he had a son outside of the marriage and that his money has been locked down for five years unless they go and find their unknown brother. All they really know is that he was the son of their father and a maid of the family's in Morocco. Most of them decide to try and find him.

The cast of characters includes: Messod, the eldest son, who has an unhappy marriage and lives in Spain; Silvia, who has a stable marriage in France and is participating only for the money; Alberto, who lives in Israel and is a writer; Israel, the youngest brother who died as a member of the Israeli army; and Yosef, the half-brother they've never known. There is also another sister, Ruth, who never gets a voice in the book but is described as “baby factory.”

The book covers their journey back to Morocco but really is as much about their life-long journey, while asking questions about the Jewish diaspora, the creation and the state of Israel. 

Gates to Tangier is not poetry, but it's written with a poet's sensibilities, which is both a strength and a weakness in the book. The language flows throughout the book, highlighting Benarroch's ability to both create scenes and write interesting dialogue. 

While the book is an interesting read, there are a few problems that are frustrating. There are many places where the voice switches and it becomes difficult to tell who's actually doing the speaking, especially towards the beginning of the book. Some sentences, particularly in the internal dialogues, are terrible run-ons. There are a few spelling errors. 

One strange thing that I found really irritating was the addition of hyphens in strange places. At times writer became wri-ter, answer became an-swer, etc. I couldn't decide whether this was a language issue or something someone thought added to the writing, but it was really starting to bother my by the end of the book.

The biggest plot problem was just the use of coincidence. There were far too many coincidences used to make certain connections, especially later in the book, for things to be believable. I'm not sure how much that actually mattered by the end though, because this book was more about questions and feel than being believable. 

Gates to Tangier is an interesting, thought-provoking book that presents different views of the Jewish diaspora than many people not from the cultures involved wouldn't consider. While the language was interesting, the lack of a real conclusion and some writing issues prevent it from fulfilling all of its potential. I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.

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Gates to Tangier 
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