Review by AYISHA_ASH -- The Expelled by Mois Benarroch
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AYISHA_ASH
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Review by AYISHA_ASH -- The Expelled by Mois Benarroch
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Expelled" by Mois Benarroch.]
2 out of 4 stars
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The Expelled is a work of fiction by author Mois Benarroch that tries to blend reality with fiction as we see the society through the eyes of the narrator. The narrator is a Jewish immigrant, originally born in Morocco. He is a struggling writer who is about to get his first book published. As the story progresses, we get a flavour of his life, of the difficulties he faces as an immigrant, the struggle of never really fitting in. His marriage is also not going well, as he has been out of work for a while and depends on his wife to provide for him. Then one day, he meets a young woman who looks, talks and behaves exactly like his wife of thirty years but only she is twenty years younger. This is the turning point in the story.
The plot of the book is definitely interesting. The author succeeds in giving the reader a first person account of the social issues faced by the narrator as an immigrant, that of a writer making his stand on social issues and also that of the relationship of a husband with his wife after several years of marriage.Though we gather that they have children, they are not central to the story and are hardly mentioned. What I liked the best about the book was the way the author conveyed one of the major struggles of immigrants, the struggle of never really belonging. The new place sees you as a foreigner, but once you return home, they do not see you as one of their own either, being corrupted by foreign soil and culture.
The book has a story within a story within a story. This does give rise to some amount of confusion and descriptions of the following kind could have been avoided, “It was her, more her than her, the same face, and while getting off the bus I saw her walking toward the security check, which looked more appropriate to an airport than a bus station, it was her and more than her, but twenty-five years hadn't gone by, not for her, … “
“...and it's kind of funny because, it's a story where in the middle someone tells another story, but I'm thinking that if I write our encounter one day it'll be a story in which someone tells a story about someone who's telling a story.”
The author has used more of such sentences which lack clarity and this becomes tiring after a while.
To get the reader to hang on to the story, more clarity is required when portraying the narrator's thoughts. I would not call it a science fiction because the unusual events in the story does not seem to have a scientific basis of any kind, but is in fact all in the narrator's mind. The book makes for an interesting read if you have the patience to read it through. A background reading of the history of Jewish immigration to Israel and the social issues they faced could be useful to get a better understanding of the book. I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. This rating was given because the plot is interesting, but the writing style takes some getting used to.
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The Expelled
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2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
The Expelled is a work of fiction by author Mois Benarroch that tries to blend reality with fiction as we see the society through the eyes of the narrator. The narrator is a Jewish immigrant, originally born in Morocco. He is a struggling writer who is about to get his first book published. As the story progresses, we get a flavour of his life, of the difficulties he faces as an immigrant, the struggle of never really fitting in. His marriage is also not going well, as he has been out of work for a while and depends on his wife to provide for him. Then one day, he meets a young woman who looks, talks and behaves exactly like his wife of thirty years but only she is twenty years younger. This is the turning point in the story.
The plot of the book is definitely interesting. The author succeeds in giving the reader a first person account of the social issues faced by the narrator as an immigrant, that of a writer making his stand on social issues and also that of the relationship of a husband with his wife after several years of marriage.Though we gather that they have children, they are not central to the story and are hardly mentioned. What I liked the best about the book was the way the author conveyed one of the major struggles of immigrants, the struggle of never really belonging. The new place sees you as a foreigner, but once you return home, they do not see you as one of their own either, being corrupted by foreign soil and culture.
The book has a story within a story within a story. This does give rise to some amount of confusion and descriptions of the following kind could have been avoided, “It was her, more her than her, the same face, and while getting off the bus I saw her walking toward the security check, which looked more appropriate to an airport than a bus station, it was her and more than her, but twenty-five years hadn't gone by, not for her, … “
“...and it's kind of funny because, it's a story where in the middle someone tells another story, but I'm thinking that if I write our encounter one day it'll be a story in which someone tells a story about someone who's telling a story.”
The author has used more of such sentences which lack clarity and this becomes tiring after a while.
To get the reader to hang on to the story, more clarity is required when portraying the narrator's thoughts. I would not call it a science fiction because the unusual events in the story does not seem to have a scientific basis of any kind, but is in fact all in the narrator's mind. The book makes for an interesting read if you have the patience to read it through. A background reading of the history of Jewish immigration to Israel and the social issues they faced could be useful to get a better understanding of the book. I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. This rating was given because the plot is interesting, but the writing style takes some getting used to.
******
The Expelled
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Like AYISHA_ASH's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: "My Mother Called Me UNNI" by Dr. Venugopal K. Menon
