Review by Victory -- Gates to Tangier by Mois Benarroch

[Victory]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Gates to Tangier" by Mois Benarroch.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Gates to Tangier

Gates-to-Tangier is a historical fiction novel about the five sibling expats of the Benzimra family from Tetouan, Morocco. After the death of their father, the protagonists learn from the will that they have a half-brother their father had with a Muslim woman in Morocco. In order to get the inheritance, they have to find the illegitimate son, so five siblings embark on a journey from Jerusalem, Madrid, New York and Paris to the village where they were born. If they fail to find the long-lost son, they will not get the inheritance which they are all counting on. Although they are unhappy about their father dictating the terms, they have no choice but to honour his last wish.

As soon as you start reading, you are drawn to the book but after just a few pages everything gets confusing. Even though I like the multi-person narration technique, it does not work for me in this book. You can see where the story is going but the inserted paragraphs, namely writer’s philosophical ruminations about life and things that bear no relevance to the main plot, interrupt the main storyline and make it hard for the reader to follow. As a result, you constantly have to return to the beginning of the chapter, to see whose story is unfolding before your very eyes especially if you put down the book an pick it up again another day.

The author comes across as self-absorbed, preoccupied with himself and his writing. He is desperately trying to be portrayed as a philosopher nobody can understand or relate to. Some of the absurd ideas, for example the boy whose sex was changed at birth, a brother who went to war and died from a rock thrown at him are the clichés already seen in too many films.

The characters all have a tale of their own to tell mostly facing everyday difficulties as expats in the countries they have taken as their own home. The book reveals the relationship and tensions between the Arab World, Europe and Israel and sheds light on Jews in Northern Morocco, a subject very little is known about. The passages describing the relationships are full of intrigue and eroticism and make the book a tad more interesting.

I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars because of the interesting descriptions of Jews and how they have assimilated in their new countries as well as the passages describing life in Tetouan and Morocco. I also liked the ending which is food for thought. The book does not deserve to be given 4 out of 4 stars because of poor grammar and spelling, paragraph layout, not to mention the language relating to Jewish culture. If you want to understand certain terminology, you have to go online to at least get a vague idea of certain terms, which is off-putting. A glossary at the end of the book would be useful. The book would appeal to anyone interested in the Jewish culture and those who like the author’s idea of leaving it to the reader’s imagination to finish off the book. I would not recommend it to those who like a simple, uncomplicated easy-to-read narrative and could not care less about the philosophical musings.

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Gates to Tangier
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