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wgsaraband's review against another edition
5.0
Leaving Tangier is a unique book. It is a crude look at the dreams of young people, who hope only to find a better life in another country. Unfortunately, luck doesn't shine on everyone, and these youths have to face more hardships than they had previously expected. And so their dreams turn into their nightmares, and their thirst for freedom an unbreakable prison.
Leaving Tangier is about taking a leap of faith, leaving everything you take for granted behind, and fight for what you believe in. It is about trial and error. It is about youth and ingenuity. It is about humanity.
Tahar Ben Jelloun is a supreme writer, and although this was his first book that I read, I can easily say that it won't be the last.
Leaving Tangier is about taking a leap of faith, leaving everything you take for granted behind, and fight for what you believe in. It is about trial and error. It is about youth and ingenuity. It is about humanity.
Tahar Ben Jelloun is a supreme writer, and although this was his first book that I read, I can easily say that it won't be the last.
_bb's review
2.0
This was ok. The writing is decent, sometimes good and other times muddled and contrived. Hard to believe this was an international bestseller. It was interesting to read about some aspects of life in Morocco and Spain from a Moroccan perspective.The idea for the ending might have been to wrap everything up in a kind of magical, touching synthesis. Instead the result is choppy, vague semi-existential rambling.
graylodge_library's review against another edition
2.0
Comparative Literature entrance exam
The beginning was good, the scene in the café was beautifully written. Maybe the overall message was good too, about leaving and coming back, but I still didn't like it that much. For example the characters were two-dimensional, so common in books of today. Although I would read this again any day instead of The Kite Runner.
The beginning was good, the scene in the café was beautifully written. Maybe the overall message was good too, about leaving and coming back, but I still didn't like it that much. For example the characters were two-dimensional, so common in books of today. Although I would read this again any day instead of The Kite Runner.
zeinabarki's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
palomasstefani's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
ameliasbooks's review against another edition
challenging
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The structure of this book was a bit of a challenge for me and it took me a while to get into the characters. But in the end it was interesting to find out more about refugees from Morocco, who are trying to make a better life in Spain and what it actually means to leave your homeland for better or worse.
madani's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Outing, and Sexual harassment
jess_segraves's review against another edition
3.0
This book ended up being a quicker read than I thought. Though since Egypt, I've been avoiding literature about North Africa, the Middle East, and Islam - for reasons inexplicable - this book drew me because it dealt with the combination of North Africa and Europe, which has always fascinated me.
The characters, though strong, devolve quickly. Azel is at first likable, even easy to relate to. But things fall apart once he gets to Spain. His sister Kenza also faces numerous difficulties such as the betrayal of love.
Thematically, this book focuses on religion, immigration, gender, and the residue of colonialism. I found Ben Jelloun's writing to be accessible, intriguing, and extremely descriptive. While this was not one of my favorite books, I would certainly recommend it.
The characters, though strong, devolve quickly. Azel is at first likable, even easy to relate to. But things fall apart once he gets to Spain. His sister Kenza also faces numerous difficulties such as the betrayal of love.
Thematically, this book focuses on religion, immigration, gender, and the residue of colonialism. I found Ben Jelloun's writing to be accessible, intriguing, and extremely descriptive. While this was not one of my favorite books, I would certainly recommend it.
sahilparikh98's review against another edition
3.0
Personally, I felt that I didn't have the cultural or situational understanding to truly relate to this book. The author did a great job of explaining some of the Morrocan/Middle Eastern/Islamic terms and culture pieces in the footnotes, which was nice. However, the ending (spoiler) felt unsatisfying. I don't think I got what I should have out of the book. The book might resonate more deeply with people who did immigrate to a new country to escape their life. The style of the book focused on characters that were sometimes loosely related to each other to describe different perspectives of the same situation and sometimes occupied their mind or their dreams. This was sometimes annoying since it was not part of the plot, so it made the actual events that transpired in the book harder to follow. I enjoyed the writing style, but wouldn't revisit this book.
angrysmileyface's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape