"Home and away. She had known both; found good in both; loved and hated both. She did not want to have to choose one or the other, because in every choice something is gained but something is also lost. And in any case, why was home thought of as a place? What if it were something else?" -p 266 ( )

(7.5)This is the first book I have read set in Morocco, so I began googling. I enjoyed this book but found the ending a bit rushed and disappointing. It does make the reader consider the disenchanted lives of these young Islamist suicide bombers. ( )

With its portrayal of young men trying to make lives for themselves in Morocco, Secret Son has plenty of topical material about Islamic extremism and social problems. Unfortunately, though, the characters felt predictable, and the plot depended largely on coincidence.

(There's more on my blog here.) ( )

Youssef is bright but poor. He lives in a one-room shack in Casablanca with his mother. She is an outsider in the slum, poor but educated and working as a nurse. She has encouraged Youssef to study and now he is at university. He dreams of belonging and of his dead father.

Except through a series of events he learns that his father is not dead. Soon he meets him and becomes part of his affluent world. He spends time in his father’s smart apartment and wears good clothes. But he has walked away from his mother and his friends and he still he doesn’t feel as if his father has fully accepted him.

I’m ambivalent about this book. The thing that makes it interesting is the insights it gives into the different aspects of Moroccan society. At university Youssef is aware of them all – the Mercedes-and-Marlboros crowd with their flawless French, the religious crowd, the political activists. He meets corrupt business people and liberal journalists. We see graduates who have no life chances despite their education, because they do not have the right connections.

But this might also be its weakness. The novel perhaps ticks off a little too conscientiously all the different groups and issues that need to be covered. And the ending, which seeks to tie the strands together, felt unconvincing to me.

The book is at its strongest when it lets the characters speak louder than the issues. The writing vividly evokes the sights, sounds and smells of Youssef’s different worlds – the cool, perfumed lives of the rich and the oppressive intimacy of the poor.

Youssef’s relationship with his mother is driven by his confusion about women and sexuality. This in turn reflects the contradictions of a society which dazzles him with wealth and opportunity – but offers no legitimate means to achieve them. ( )

Lalami's book is in many ways an exposition upon Shakespeare's famous "All the world's a stage" monologue from William Shakespeare's As You Like It
"All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages."
Her characters play out their individual roles with no understanding of the playwright's overall plot - leading as often as not to tragedy, but tragedy by circumstance rather than by intent. A wonderful read - I highly recommend it. ( )