Review by iknwuzoh -- Keys to Tetouan by Mois Benarroch

Review by iknwuzoh -- Keys to Tetouan by Mois Benarroch

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Unread post by iknwuzoh » 07 May 2018, 06:19

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4 out of 4 stars

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Keys To Tetouan by Mois Benarroch is a tale of Mois Benzimra who is the father of a Jewish tribe that settled in Tetouan from where they dispersed to other countries of the world.

The theme of the book reflects on the effects of civilisations on the Jewish identity. It emphasizes on the state of Jews in the modern day society, their wanting to go back to the Jewish ways of life, in a world that is turning into a global village. It reflects on their wish to return to Jewish traditions in this modern era. Many Jews are experiencing the effects of migration. I see this book as a book that fits into the Jewish genre. My view of this theme is that it is recommendable for the Jews of nowadays who want to understand and know what it means to be Jewish, who want to know what the Jewish lifestyle was like before this modern era. I noticed the book expanded much on the state of the Jews in many nations wanting to retain their Jewish identity. I strongly recommend this book for Jews and non-Jews. This is because the Jews have had some impact on non-Jews and mixture of races have taken place due to the Jewish expansion. I will say that non-Jews should also read this literary piece to see how they may be affected by the Jewish expansion. Many non-Jews who read this book may find out they have reasonable connections with the Jewish identity. It expresses how many Jews seek their homeland and how many non-Jews became Jewish through interracial marriages.

This book is very interesting to read as it is a book that has the capacity to unite Jews with non-Jews. I strongly recommend this book as a book that can join different tribes in conflict. The Jewish exile is well stressed in the theme including the effects of westernisation. The modern Jew finds himself in a state different from the olden times when the Jewish retained its unique identity. The theme questions the Jews with regards to whether they can ever realise their previous state before westernisation. The answers are not definitely given in this very book but is left for the reader to figure out.

This literary piece is a contemplation of the state of the Jewish tribe and not an answer to that state. This book is interesting with some interesting characters like Moshe Benzimra who poses here as the father of the tribe. His character in this book shows much about the nature of the Jewish lifestyle. He seems to be a major character in this piece.

I also observed while reading the book about a categories of keys. There was reference to a particular key that will open the house in Tetouan. Keys were mentioned many times in this book with a particular reference to the key used with a scanner in a device that opens the historical aspects of the Jewish in Tetouan. The book got its name from these categories of keys.

I like the way the book was written, how it uses the characters of the Benzimra family to explain the plight of the Jewish identity in the modern era with respect to the Jewish town of Tetouan. I will rate this book 4 out of 4 stars because of it's unique way of entertaining the reader and connecting Jews and non-Jews. In conclusion, I strongly recommend this book for Jews and non-Jews alike.

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Keys to Tetouan 
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes

Review by Helen_Combe -- Keys to Tetouan by Mois Benarroch 4/4 stars

Review by Helen_Combe -- Keys to Tetouan by Mois Benarroch

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Unread post by Helen_Combe » 

READ to Keys to Tetouan in

English getbook.at/keys2tetouan

Castellano getbook.at/llavesdetetuan

Hebrew עברית http://www.lulu.com/shop/paperback/product-22974017.html 

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4 out of 4 stars

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Keys to Tetouan by Mois Benarroch is a remarkable and very individual book. It tells the story of the Benzimras, a Jewish family who settled in Tetouan in Morocco after they were expelled from Spain in the 15th century. When Israel was created in 1948, a very large proportion of the Tetouan population emigrated there, and to other parts of the world.

The story begins with Fernando Benzimra who has received a letter from his late father telling him that he (his father) was Jewish. Fernando then goes to Tetouan to seek out his family and learn his ancestry. The history is told piecemeal by other members of the family in the form of letters, conversations and memoirs. The book explores the experience of being in exile and of longing to belong while belonging nowhere, not even in Israel.

What makes this book so remarkable is how creatively it has been written. Benarroch is a poet and, as poets are wont to do, he has complete disregard for the rules of written English. Much of the book takes the form of a stream of consciousness and is difficult to follow. Often an entire paragraph will be made up of just one sentence and may stretch across several pages. There are no dialogue attributions and it can be difficult to work out who is speaking or writing.

The text is littered with grammatical errors, but as I was unsheathing my red pen, a thought struck me. Perhaps it’s meant to be like this. There is very little narrative. Most of the book is either spoken or written by the characters. One character admitted that he was 80 years old and pounding on a typewriter while his ideas flowed too fast for him to keep up with them. I then made the decision that the errors form part of the idiosyncratic nature of the book, so I put my red pen away. I was glad I did because in the prologue, which is situated towards the end, it says ‘this book has a lot of grammar mistakes because it's (sic) author is very strict with Don't Do deeds only’. I’m not entirely sure I know what that means, but I get the gist.

What I like most about this book is the way it has been written. It’s often difficult, confusing and frustrating, but despite all that, it’s beautiful. There is pleasure in watching the words as they unfold.

There is one grammatical error that I can’t just sit back and accept. In the third chapter, it says that Tetouan was rebuilt in 1942 after the Spanish expulsion. That should read as 1492.

This is not an easy book to read. I haven’t had to work this hard since I discovered John Fowles and Salman Rushdie. I would recommend it to people who like the kind of poetry that you have to wrestle with in order to extract meaning. It’s also more of a philosophical than a historical novel and will appeal to people who are interested in people.

Despite giving me a headache and making me go boss-eyed with my attempts to comprehend it, I will nevertheless award this book 4 out of 4 stars.

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Keys to Tetouan 
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes