One Way

The book arrived in perfect condition in a timely manner. I would definitely order from this bookseller again.

Van Caulwelaert's novel reads well in its English translation from the original French. It is a magical tale with its own sense of reality, one where truthfulness takes a back seat to practicality & imagination. The irony of circumstances that send the book spiraling out of control are hilarious. I often found myself laughing aloud, something I rarely do from the written word. For example, once in Morocco, Aziz tries to impress the hotel that he has papers from King Hussein, only to be corrected by the travel guide that King Hussein is in Jordan while King Hassan is from Morocco. Aziz's false bravado throughout the tale makes him a fascinating protagonist. The twist of fate that results in the baby being rescued from a burning car in Marseilles, given fake papers by his Gypsy rescuers with an Arabic name that proclaims him a citizen of Morocco, and then to be apprehended by the French government at his engagement party at age 19 to be repatriated to a country to which he has never been, whose language & customs he doesn't know, befriended by the French agent Jean-Pierre Schnieder and bedded by tour guide Valerie in Rabat is an engaging plot that keeps us waiting for the next unexpected development page after page. The gypsy customs are also hilariously odd as Aziz makes love to his girlfriend Lila by the back door so as to preserve her virginity for her fiancee Rajko. The episodic foray into the untamed Atlas Mountains is a journey of wonderful stupidity as Aziz bluffs his way further and further into the unknown toward his imaginary home of Irghiz. While a translation, I found the dialogue and description riveting that made the pages zoom. The dust jacket proclaims that this book won France's highest literary prize. I found it to be wonderfully endearing and was sorry to let the characters go. Enjoy!