[Following is a review of "Keys to Tetouan" by Mois Benarroch.]
3 out of 4 stars
The story is about a man who is tracing his roots from Tetouan as a member of the Benzimra family. The reader is gradually given clues concerning the meaning of the title of the book through several instances when 'the key' is mentioned. The choice of the title is perfect for the book. If I was to award the relevance of the title to the story, I would give it 4 out of 4 stars.
The author uses frequent flash back to give the reader an idea about the life of the characters. He intertwines the present and the past events of the main character's life through brief dialogues. Reading the book feels like watching a movie with short scenes that do not make sense at first but, with a bit of patience, the gist of the story finally starts to sink in. The storyline was confusing at first but, as I patiently read on it became clear what the story was about.
The narrative is poetic especially at the instances when the grandfather, Mimon, narrates the history of their people to his grandson. You can tell that the author is a poet since the lack of adhering to punctuation rules seems intentional.
Keys to Tetouan addresses the theme of culture and prejudice in the entire content. The major clash is between being Jew or Christian. The main character is battling to find his identity and that of his children. As a child, his family moved from exile to reside in their land- Israel. Residing among Jews still presents them with other forms of social segregation.
I give Keys to Tetouan 3 out of 4 stars because it had petty spelling mistakes that can be eliminated with accurate editing. The book in its entirety is an excellent literary work. It is humorous and captivating. I think Mois Benarroch is more powerful as a poet than a novelist.
I would recommend this novel to the patient reader who does not mind reading slow paced historical fiction narratives. However, Keys to Tetouan might be a boring read to the reader who prefers an easy or direct plot which does not need critical thinking skills.
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Keys to Tetouan
READ to Keys to Tetouan in
English getbook.at/keys2tetouan
Castellano getbook.at/llavesdetetuan
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