The Simple Past
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Book Overview
The Simple Past came out in 1954, and both in France and its author's native Morocco the book caused an explosion of fury. The protagonist, who shares the author's name, Driss, comes from a Moroccan family of means, his father a self-made tea merchant, the most devout of Muslims, quick to be provoked and ready to lash out verbally or physically, continually bent on subduing his timid wife and many children to his iron and ever-righteous will. He is known, simply, as the Lord, and Driss, who is in high school, is in full revolt against both him and the French colonial authorities, for whom, as much as for his father, he is no one. Driss Chra bi's classic coming-of-age story is about colonialism, Islam, the subjection of women, and finding, as his novel does, a voice that is as cutting and coruscating as it is original and free.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:1681373602
ISBN13:9781681373607
Release Date:January 2020
Publisher:New York Review of Books
Length:240 Pages
Weight:0.55 lbs.
Dimensions:0.6" x 5.0" x 8.0"
Customer Reviews
1 rating
Cross cultural challenge - Islam & the West: Le Passe Simple
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 21 years ago
This is a striking and often times harsh tale written in 1954 which illuminates the difficulties of living between two cultures - one which is strongly Islam and that of the Occident. The edges have not been smoothed by any sense of political correctness, and with this tone we are taken to the heart of the emotions this dilemma can inspire. Set in a Moroccan family, the key character is a young moroccan man with a western education but a strictly traditional father. Le Passe Simple is a novel famous within Moroccan and francophone circles but less well known amongst English-speakers. Not an 'easy read' but one that rewards the reader by penetrating behind superficial differences and not shying away from harsh, emotional experiences. What do other readers think?
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