What’s new in North Africa?

This somewhat older but still quite topical novel offers a captivating exploration. It transports you into another heart of darkness, compelling you to always step back in order to obtain a better and more comprehensive understanding of the events unfolding.

The story of Morocco and its culture is at times enchanting, yet mostly intense and highly interesting. It delves deep into the rich tapestry of this North African nation, revealing its secrets, traditions, and the complex lives of its people.

As you turn the pages, you’ll find yourself immersed in a world that is both familiar and foreign, filled with vivid descriptions and engaging characters. The novel serves as a reminder that there is always more to discover and understand about different cultures and the events that shape them.

Whether you’re a lover of travel, history, or simply a good story, this novel is sure to captivate your imagination and leave you with a newfound appreciation for North Africa and its unique charm.

This work is likely ahead of its time in critiquing western imperialism and those well-meaning yet perhaps selfish white tourists.

Some reviews suggest that the ending felt rushed or inconsistent with the rest of the story. However, I firmly disagree. I believe the ending was exquisitely bitter and devastating.

It laid bare everything about what truly mattered to John, Polly, and Amar. Through this ending, we can see the true nature of their characters and the complex web of relationships and motives that drive them.

It forces us to confront the harsh realities of imperialism and the often-hidden agendas of those who claim to be helping. In this way, the ending serves as a powerful conclusion that ties together the themes of the story and leaves a lasting impact on the reader.

Set during the Moroccan War for independence from France, Bowles undertakes an in-depth exploration of the myriad views regarding Morocco's plight.

On one hand, there is the ultra-conservative Moslem boy, whose perspective is deeply rooted in his traditional beliefs and the way of life he has known.

On the other hand, there are two American visitors who are pro-independence. However, they are somewhat immune to the country's troubles and seemingly unaware of their own country's complicity in the oppression of Moroccan citizens.

Bowles astutely shows that both sides share certain similarities in how tenaciously they hold to their beliefs. In fact, he even reveals that both can be misogynistic in their outlooks.

Yet, at the same time, he demonstrates how these firmly held beliefs prevent them from truly understanding each other's viewpoints.

This is a weighty book that maintains a hard, spare look at the consequences of colonialism. It forces the reader to confront the complex and often uncomfortable realities of a nation in the throes of seeking independence while grappling with the legacies of foreign domination.

The writing is, as always, truly beautiful.

However, the story seems to meander in a way that is not quite in a languid or slow build fashion.

Rather, it feels a bit aimless at times.

What's more, there is a distinct lack of a sense of urgency within the story.

Given the backdrop against which the story is set, this absence of urgency is something that I found quite hard to overcome.

It makes it difficult to fully engage with the story and feel a sense of investment in what is happening.

Despite the beautiful prose, the lack of a driving force or sense of urgency detracts from the overall impact of the story.

Perhaps with a bit more focus and a stronger sense of urgency, the story could have been even more captivating and engaging.

I don't even know where to begin with this.

Polly is nauseating. Her actions and behavior are truly repulsive, making it difficult to have any sympathy for her character.

John, on the other hand, is unbearable and obnoxious. His constant whining and self-centeredness are enough to drive anyone crazy.

Thankfully, Amar is wonderfully insightful. His presence in the novel brings a glimmer of hope and intelligence. In fact, he is quite honestly the only good thing about this novel.

The ending, however, grated on my very last nerve. It was so unexpected and cruel that it broke my heart and then filled me with rage.

I don't see myself reading anything by Bowles again in the near future. The experience of reading this novel has left a bitter taste in my mouth, and I'm not eager to subject myself to such disappointment again.

What a truly intelligent and engaging read this is.

The story gracefully meanders between the experiences of a young lad hailing from Fez and those of some expats. Their narratives become intricately entwined, seamlessly fusing elements of socio-politics, faith, and the final years of French occupation.

There is a remarkable level of knowledge and astute observation evident throughout, as Bowles had lived in Morocco. The text is peppered with mystery and a sense of fatalism, which adds an extra layer of allure. The novel poses numerous thought-provoking questions for me, while at the same time painting some exquisitely detailed ethnographic scenes and offering profound insights into a world that is so different from my own.

Best of all, the novel was written on Taprobane Island, a place that I have had the privilege of visiting on more than one occasion, albeit from the shore. The next landmass to the south of it is Antarctica, separated by the vast Indian Ocean. It is truly astonishing to think that he could have imagined such a captivating story from such a remote and unique location.

The only thing that makes life truly worth living is the wonderful possibility of experiencing now and then a perfect moment.

These perfect moments are like precious gems that shine brightly in the fabric of our lives. They bring us joy, fulfillment, and a sense of meaning.

And perhaps even more than the experience itself, it's having the remarkable ability to recall such moments in their totality.

We can close our eyes and transport ourselves back to those special times, reliving every detail, every emotion.

Contemplating these moments like jewels allows us to cherish and hold onto the beauty and significance they bring.

They become a source of inspiration and strength, guiding us through the challenges and uncertainties of life.

By recognizing and valuing these perfect moments, we can find greater appreciation for the simple pleasures and the extraordinary experiences that make life so rich and fulfilling.

From the renowned author who resided in Fez, on the eve of 1956, seen through the perspectives of a teenage boy and a cantankerous American expat.

I relished being in Fez while perusing this, as it vividly brought the city to life in a novel way. It enabled you to view the cracks, crevices, and piles of trash as integral parts of a long, captivating, and tumultuous history.

It was also intriguing to read the perspective of a Muslim boy penned by an American. Moreover, his other character is a writer lamenting how the romantic Fez he once knew will never be the same.

However, I didn't complete this one. Firstly, when we reached Spain, and secondly, mainly because I found the tone unremittingly depressing. Bowles has a rather jaundiced view of humanity, which seeps through all the cracks and crevices of his novel. Given how emotionally draining it was to be in Morocco anyway, I decided to switch to something that held at least a modicum of hope for the world.

Final analysis: Interesting and fascinating writing, yet with the voice of a hopeless curmudgeon.

The world was once a place of unrivaled beauty, and life seemed to stretch out infinitely, eternal and unchanging. There was no need to look beyond the surface, to question or to probe deeper.

Now, of course, he had changed. But he was firmly convinced that the world had also undergone a transformation. It was almost unthinkable that any seventeen-year-old youth today could experience the same carefree light-heartedness or discover the same lyrical sweetness in life that he had known back then. At times, for the briefest moment, he could recapture that reality, a delicious pain that vanished almost as soon as it emerged. And yet, it served as proof that a part of him still remained bathed in the clear light of those long-lost days.

Mingled with her sense of loss, she had also experienced a strange feeling of liberation. But now she knew that what had occurred was that time had begun to flow within her. She was alone, and therefore she was truly herself, finally on her own path. And ever since then, she had been on that journey, steadily moving towards the end.

The loneliness that resided in his heart, the longing for someone who could understand him if he were to speak, all of this manifested itself in the fragile strings of sound he created with his breath and his fingers. Lost in thought, he continued to play, and slowly the person for whom he played ceased to be the figure by the door and became that other presence he had become aware of earlier in the evening in the tower. Someone whose existence in the world held the promise of hope. He paused for an instant, and in his mind, inextricably linked to the happiness set free by the idea of that other being, he heard a second music – like singing coming from a distant sunlit shore, infinitely lovely and inexpressibly tender. A filament of song so delicate that it might be nothing more than the mind's recollection of a music it had never heard except in dreams.

"Never!" Amar cried out, his eyes ablaze. "You're a Nazarene, a Christian. That's why you talk like that. If you were a Moslem and said such things, you'd be killed or struck blind here and now. Christians have good hearts, but they don't know anything. They think they can change what has been written. They're afraid to die because they don't understand the purpose of death. And if you're afraid to die, then you don't know the meaning of life. How can you truly live?"

It's said that Bowles's forbidding short stories differ from his friendlier novels.

As I've read just two stories and one novel and have gleaned the outline of another novel and some critical comments about the author and his writing, I really do enjoy this novel more. It's also considered his best literary work by some critics.

The theme of multiculturalism brings together several groups of participants in the era of 1954. In the early twentieth century, the French made Morocco a Protectorate, yet the Moroccan way of life continued much the same. Paul Bowles was greatly attracted to the latter and eventually settled there in 1947.

In the early 1950s, a group of Moroccan nationalists emerged. Besides Morocco's independence, they wanted to modernize features of traditional society, which might have included western views of female equality and a secular outlook on life. For some reason(s), the French remained, and a clash between them and the nationalists grew ugly.

That backstory touches the plot of The Spider's House, which takes place in and around the city of Fes. One character is Amar, a young boy whose father instills the ethics of Islam in him. Another character is an American writer John Stenham, a questioning observer of other characters and an aficionado of possibly endangered, rural festivities.

Each section of Fes is designated to an ethnic group: Jewish Mellah, Muslim Medina, French Ville Nouvelle. In all, this story portrays the interactions among them. The featured interaction begins when the American writers and the Moroccan boy temporarily befriend each other. (The entire plot extends over a few days, possibly three or four days.)

One way in which Bowles demonstrates multicultural interactions is through the juxtaposition of Arabic, Maghrebi, French, and English language. Despite any literal translations, sometimes some further cultural understanding is necessary to comprehend the other.

This novel not only presents a vivid picture of the cultural and social landscape of Morocco at that time but also explores the complex relationships and conflicts among different ethnic groups and cultures. It makes the readers think deeply about the meaning and value of multiculturalism in a globalized world.

Próba zrozumienia marokańskiej mentalności opisana przez Europejczyka. Próba.

This is an attempt to understand the Moroccan mentality as described by a European. It is not an easy task, as the Moroccan culture and way of thinking can be quite different from that of Europeans.

The European may have observed various aspects of Moroccan life, such as the social structure, the values and beliefs, and the daily routines. By analyzing these observations, the European hopes to gain a better understanding of the Moroccan mentality.

However, it is important to note that this is only one person's perspective, and there may be many other factors that contribute to the complexity of the Moroccan mentality. Therefore, this attempt should be seen as a starting point for further exploration and learning.

This was my very first encounter with Bowles, and I am already eager to explore more of his works right away.

I initially picked up The Spiders House as supplementary reading material in preparation for my upcoming trip to Morocco. It seemed to offer a less gloomy perspective and promised to provide more profound insights compared to The Sheltering Sky.

After putting it down, I was truly impressed. Not only did his writing offer remarkable insights into the country's cultural dynamics and recent history, but I also found his prose to be incredibly affecting.

What I appreciated the most was his remarkable ability to bring those hazy inner thoughts that accompany our every action into the physical world. He was able to capture our inner dialogue with such precision.

It appears that he has spent a significant amount of time delving into his own thoughts and has managed to crystallize them in a self-reflexive manner. This, in turn, allows him to infuse his characters with this crystalline self-analysis.

Certain passages within the novel even triggered self-reflection on my own actions. It is truly a novel of great beauty, depth, and artistic insight into the human psyche.

Overall, my first experience with Bowles has been nothing short of extraordinary, and I look forward to many more encounters with his work in the future.