Le mariage de plaisir par Tahar Ben Jelloun (review)

Reviews 263 general reader may be overwhelmed by the detail of the analysis, the serious student of Franco-American culture will welcome this impressive work, which brings attention to a centuries-old French cultural practice in the heart of America. Southeast Missouri State University Alice J. Strange Creative Works edited by Jean-François Duclos Ben Jelloun, Tahar. Le mariage de plaisir. Paris: Gallimard, 2016. ISBN 978-2-07017823 -0. Pp. 261. 19,50 a. The author once again explores the topic of racism, not in the context of immigrants in a Western European country but rather in an African community between two neighboring countries. In Le racisme expliqué à ma fille (1997), he aimed to educate children about racism and xenophobia, but in this novel he explores the issue of racism as a rampant phenomenon that affects every society. The story is set in Morocco in the 1950s. The reader follows Amir, a rich married merchant from Fès and father of four children who travels to Dakar for business purposes and signs a contract for a “mariage de plaisir” to a black woman named Nabou. This practice is a contracted marriage that could be of any duration and can be dissolved depending on Amir’s travel plans. This is a contested tradition in some Islamic countries that is intended to prevent men from seeking the company of prostitutes. However, instead of “dissolving”this marriage when it is time to leave,Amir falls in love with Nabou and brings her with him to Fès as his second wife. With Nabou, Amir discovers a physical attraction he never experienced with his first wife. As a result of his new marriage, twin boys Hassan and Houcine are born, one black and one white. Two different identities and life trajectories will result from an otherwise identical upbringing and education for the two boys. Hassan is less integrated and always preoccupied by his origins and the color of his skin. He has a son named Salim, who is also black. Salim is raised in the 1990s and falls victim to policies toward undocumented citizens in Tanger. During a raid, he is deported to Senegal as an immigrant. Ben Jelloun’s skillful storytelling is presented as a testimony showing racism as a taboo in Moroccan society (as it is in France and elsewhere) that runs through several generations and predetermines the characters’ path in life. Through very engaging characters, his novel reflects in an intense way a family’s experience with a society’s history of slavery and immigration. All these are ideas at the center of any contemporary society that Ben Jelloun brings forward in an original way.Through a third-person narration, the reader experiences the absurdity of a world that is profoundly affected by predetermined ideas and prejudices related to race, education, class, and where free movement and travel for the privileged coexists with extreme violence for unwanted and undocumented citizens of color. Another remarkable feature of Ben Jelloun’s writing is his ability to present local beliefs in the form of tales and tell tales in the form of local beliefs. For example, through his depiction of the exceptional talents, abilities, and intuition of Karim,Amir’s son by his first wife, Ben Jelloun touches upon the views and prejudices of people with Down syndrome. He also shares unique tales of Nabou’s Fula people of Senegal as a way to highlight their society. St. John’s University (NY) Zoe Petropoulou Bergeron, Carl. Voir le monde avec un chapeau. Montréal: Boréal, 2016. ISBN 9782 -7646-2415-9. Pp. 357. $28 Can. Upon reading the opening pages, this reviewer encountered a most original œuvre for it mystifies, if not defies, the traditional standards of literary genres. The format is that of a journal but it is for the most part fiction, and the text encompasses short essays, daily observations, social and political commentaries, autobiographical data, and above all, a presentation of today’s Québec as compared to the old with a fervent observation of what Bergeron calls the Épreuve, that the Québécois have to endure, meaning“se libérer de l’atavisme de la honte”(320...