A semi-autobiographical novel about a young boy growing up in French colonized Tunisia.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Alexandre Mordekhai Benillouche, Memmi's young hero and narrator, is a Jewish native of French-colonized Tunisia. His rich description of ``the almond bitterness of blackened calfskins'' in his father's tanning shop, among other things, betrays Memmi's nostalgia for his own childhood in a Tunis ghetto. By the eve of his bar mitzvah, however, Alexandre confesses to an acrid ``distance between myself and the tribe.'' Questioning the Judaism of his family and community, he finds it ``an incoherent mixture of Berber superstitions . . . and rites that could not satisfy the smallest spiritual need.'' An exceptional student, Alexandre forsakes tradition for an intellectual life. But unable to assimilate the ways of his wealthy, gentile classmates, he feels isolated at school. Memmi's ( The Colonizer and the Colonized ) long-out-of-print semiautobiographical novel powerfully distinguishes itself through its unblinking examination of the contradictions that thwart even Alexandre's most altruistic ambitions. After volunteering to work in a labor camp during WW II, Alexandre discovers that the class and ethnic distinctions haunting him continued within the camp. Ultimately, only exile and fiction writing--``mastering . . . life by recreating it''--can avert despair. Yet like Lot's wife, whose backward glance turned her into salt, Alexandre's existentialist self-revision only lands him in the prison of his own solitude.
Copyright 1992 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Review
'His father an Italian Jew, his mother a Berber, Benillouche struggles on the tattered fringe of the Tunisian ghetto for the very air he breathes. . . . A mature, thoughtful book.'--The New York Times
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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Coming of Age in the Jewish Ghetto of Colonial Tunis,
This review is from: The Pillar of Salt (Paperback)
"Pillar of Salt" is a remarkable autobiographical novel about coming of age in the Jewish ghetto of Tunis during the 1930s and 1940s. Besides providing an enjoyable narrative, Memmi conveys a vivid picture of the impact of French colonialism on Tunisian society in general and on Tunisian Jews in particular. It is a study of multiple alienation, at once from traditional Jewish culture, Tunisian Muslim culture, and French culture. Memmi's work also sheds light on the little known story of the Holocaust in Axis-occupied Tunisia as well as the growth of zionism among North African Jews.This book is a must read for anyone interested in French colonialism, North Africa, and modern Jewish history. It is also simply a good read.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
fine literature,
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This review is from: The Pillar of Salt (Paperback)
This (semi)autobiographical book was written in the mid fifties. It deserves to be plucked from obscurity and placed among the better novels of the 20th century. Artful prose tells the story of a boy growing up in colonial Tunis. He is at the crossroads of Jewish, French, African and Moslem/Arab culture. He is unable to assimilate all these influences into his life, so he rejects his background and is left with a void he cannot fill. Highly recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fabulous Book,
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This review is from: The Pillar of Salt (Paperback)
This is a great book about the life of an African Jew covering pre and postwar France. Compelling and thought provoking!
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The Pillar of Salt, Monsieur Bismuth, Ben Smaan, Uncle Aroun, Uncle Joseph, Monsieur Louzel, Alliance School, Monsieur Marzouk, Aunt Noucha, The National Commissioner, Tarfoune Street, Aunt Maissa, Gray Wolf, Uncle Binhas, Monsieur Marouzeau, Alliance Israélite Universelle, Alexandre Benillouche Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The Pillar of Salt, Monsieur Bismuth, Ben Smaan, Uncle Aroun, Uncle Joseph, Monsieur Louzel, Alliance School, Monsieur Marzouk, Aunt Noucha, The National Commissioner, Tarfoune Street, Aunt Maissa, Gray Wolf, Uncle Binhas, Monsieur Marouzeau, Alliance Israélite Universelle, Alexandre Benillouche Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
20
books
cite this book:
See all 20 books citing this book
- Dark Continents: Psychoanalysis and Colonialism (Post-Contemporary Interventions) by Ranjana Khanna on page 102, page 146, and Back Matter
- Women Claim Islam: Creating Islamic Feminism Through Literature by Miriam Cooke on page 36, page 37, and Back Matter
- Women Claim Islam: Creating Islamic Feminism Through Literature by Miriam Cooke on page 36, page 37, and Back Matter
- Michelin NEOS Guide Tunisia, 1e (NEOS Guide) by Michelin Travel Publications on page 71, and page 113
- Healing Narratives: Women Writers Curing Cultural Dis-ease by Gay Wilentz on page 147, and Back Matter
See all 20 books citing this book
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