Leaving Tangier (2006 in French; 2009 English translation) By Tahar Ben Jelloun

Tahar Ben Jelloun is an international bestselling author from Morocco.  He’s written 30 some novels, though he is a “new” author to me.

I picked Leaving Tangier as my first read because it is from one of my favorite genres, immigration stories, in this case that of “los moros” moving northward across the 8-1/2 mile straits separating Morocco from Spain. The story is told through the characters of Azel, his sister Kenza, and a benefactor named Miguel, from Barcelona, who facilitates their exit.  A central theme of the book is the desperation a lack of opportunity breeds among the young in Morocco.  This reality, both economic and societal, is what leads Azel, Kenza and tens of thousands of others to take whatever routes available to flee for the chance at the proverbial “better life” in Europe.

It’s not a new story, change the names of the countries and this is a common history threading through many great works of literature.   The North Africa to Western Europe immigration versions I have read however have always been written by Europeans, patronizing Europeans.  What makes Leaving Tangier different is the knowing perspective brought to the story by Ben Jelloun, a native of Fez, who now divides his time between Tangier and Paris.  His eyes are critical of Morocco mind you, and one must wonder how he has avoided arrest all of these years.  But his eyes are equally critical of Europe, a balance not usually found in discussions on this topic.

The book is written in realism, but also weaves in a few good dream sequences.  For the conclusion, it incorporates a fantasy tract ranking among most amazing I’ve ever read, as both Flaubert and Don Quixote board a ship “of five and twenty.”

I’d also like to comment on the character development in the book, because it is significant and very well done, but alas to say more would entail a spoiler alert -- you’ll have to read it yourself, and yes, that is a very strong recommendation.

The Path to the Spiders' Nests (1947 in Italian; 2000-revised in English) By Italo Calvino

Path to the Spiders’ Nests is the first novel of Italian author Italo Calvino (1923-1985); his other works include Invisible Cities and If On a Winter’s Night a Traveler.   I’ve not read any of his works before, though they are readily available in English. 

A short book, Spiders’ Nests is set in coastal Italy in the middle to late days of World War II.  It does not have much of a storyline, a rather fabricated one actually, which serves as an anchor for several character studies.  It does however have an extremely memorable main character: Pin, a pre-adolescent boy living with his prostitute sister, they have been orphaned by the death of their mother and abandonment by their father.  The story covers about a week of Pin’s life as he is attempting to grow up in the nonfunctioning environment that constituted the Italian State and its coalition-of-convenience resistance movement.  Wise beyond his years, Pin has little association with children his age, and is bewildered by adults … all adults.  I kept thinking of Huckleberry Finn while reading this, yet Spiders’ Nests has a vastly different setting.

Because of Pin this is an interesting read, though the story is not near as interesting as the Wikipedia biography of its author (born in Cuba, moved to San Remo, Italy when he was 2, trained as an agronomist, his masters thesis was on Joseph Conrad).

A Memoir: Happy Accidents (2011) By Jane Lynch

I usually alternate my reads, something heavy, followed by something light.  My last post was on endless warfare and genocide, it was truly time for something light. 

Happy Accidents is a Memoir by Jane Lynch, of Glee fame.  I’m not generally into celebrity autobiographies, something to do with their general tone of self-importance and the always evident self-censorship.  I would not have bought this book.  But, it was gifted to me, and a great gift it turned out to be.  What made it different?

Well, Jane Lynch is a Chicagoan – a product of Thornridge High School, a fan of the Brady Bunch and Happy Days, who paid her dues at Second City and the Annoyance Theater.  I do not know Jane, but I know this woman.  She was a Catholic girl with coming out issues and a related teenage drinking habit.   She had hysterically funny crushes, both real and imaginary.   And to top it off, after she finished college she apparently lived around the corner from me, often drinking the day away at The Half Shell … so that’s who that funny blond woman in the corner was! 

She’s ended up a Hollywood star (The 40-year Old Virgin, Two and a Half Men, and Glee), with a compelling story, worthy of an introduction by the one and only Carol Burnett, and has modestly termed her life a “happy accident” -- as was my decision to read the book.