Secret Son [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

Laila Lalami (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 21, 2009

Youssef el-Mekki, a young man of nineteen, is living with his mother in the slums of Casablanca when he discovers that the father he believed to be dead is, in fact, alive and eager to befriend and support him. Leaving his mother behind, Youssef assumes a life he could only dream of: a famous and influential father, his own penthouse apartment, and all the luxuries associated with his new status. His future appears assured until an abrupt reversal of fortune sends him back to the streets and his childhood friends, where a fringe Islamic group, known simply as the Party, has set up its headquarters.

In the spirit of The Inheritance of Loss and The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Laila Lalami's powerful first novel explores the struggle for identity, the need for family, and the desperation that overtakes ordinary lives in a country divided by class, politics, and religion.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Moroccan-born Lalami offers a novel set in her native land. The protagonist is a young man of very meager circumstances living with his widowed mother in Casablanca while he attends college as an English major. The city’s ancient streets teem with political unrest, but Youssef seems disconnected. His thoughts are haunted by the loss of his father in a freak accident when Youssef was an infant. Shocked by his doting mother’s precipitous confession that he is not the son of her late husband, Youssef determines to find his real father, who turns out to be a successful local businessman. The man sets up Youssef in a chic apartment, quite a contrast to the slum Youssef has called home. But such a sudden turn of fortune cannot endure a time of turmoil. A story brimming with insight into the complexities of life in contemporary Morocco. --Mark Knoblauch

Review

A "powerful debut novel. . . .The culture and politics of contemporary Morocco are well displayed in this beautifully written tale, with the talented Lalami deftly portraying Youssef’s struggles for identity, work, and family. A brilliant story of alienation and desperation that easily transports readers to hot, dusty Casablanca; highly recommended."—Library Journal, starred review

(Library Journal )

"An absorbing tale."—Kirkus Reviews

(Kirkus Reviews )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 291 pages
• Publisher: Algonquin Books; 1 edition (April 21, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565124944
• ASIN: B003STCMX8
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #880,772 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Laila Lalami was born and raised in Morocco. She attended Université Mohammed-V in Rabat, University College in London, and the University of Southern California, where she earned a Ph.D. in linguistics. Her work has appeared in the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, The Nation, the New York Times, the Washington Post and elsewhere. She is the recipient of a British Council Fellowship and a Fulbright Fellowship. She was short-listed for the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2006, National Book Critics' Circle Nona Balakian Award in 2009 and long-listed for the Orange Prize in 2010. She is the author of the short story collection Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits and the novel Secret Son. Her work has been translated into ten languages. She is currently Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of California at Riverside.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An artistic gem offering a keen insight into the contemporary Arab world April 16, 2009

By C. W. Day

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

In this superb short novel, Laila Lalami deftly limns the rise and fall of Youssef El Mekki, unacknowledged bastard son of prominent businessman, disillusioned activist, and bon vivant Nabil El Amrani. Seemingly sprung from the trap of the Casablanca slums when he learns that his father, far from being dead, is in fact a Moroccan tycoon, Youssef is soon caught in a complex web of familial and political intrigue. A mark of this novel's quality is its ability to portray what for many Americans is the mildly exotic culture of Morocco while also convincingly revealing the ways in which both Americans and Moroccans are enmeshed in their own cultural contexts (a point illustrated in another fashion by Malcolm Gladwell's recent Outliers). While each character acts as though autonomously, behind the apparently simple interactions among the characters lies a complex web of human relationships, cultural relationships, and sometimes sinister motivations, which Lalami gradually unveils. Lalami's lean style, unsparing eye, and tight construction mean not a word is wasted in this elegant depiction of the book's all too human characters and its damning indictment of the cruel forces that manipulate them.

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a powerful and realistic story about a young man's dreams April 16, 2009

By Malcolm R. Campbell

Format:Hardcover

Youssef and his mother Rachida live in a one-room house with no windows and a tin roof held in place by stones in a Casablanca slum. When it rains, the roof leaks. When it's not raining, they live in the yard beneath a sky as spacious as Youssef's dreams.

When it rains, they carry their life back inside the whitewashed house: the divan, the food bowls, the clean clothes off the line, and the black and white photograph of his father that hangs in the yard above the divan. The young man who forever smiles out of that old photograph was in his 20s, not so many rears older than Youssef is now as he prepares to enter college in Casablanca.

He thinks often about the man in the picture who died in an accident, his mother told him, when Youssef was two; he was a well-respected man, a dedicated school teacher and, as Youssef learns a few pages into Laila Lalami's powerful debut novel, an invention.

As Rachida's secrets unravel, the following facts emerge: Youssef is the product of his mother's affair with a married man, a man who is not only very much alive, but a wealthy and influential Casablanca businessman. While his doting mother is content to play the role of the grieving widow, as Youssef sees it, and to eke out a living in a slum, he is now free to escape from all that's been denied him into a life of achievable dreams.

Against his mother's wishes, he leaves the windowless house to discover his true identity. While she prays her son will make something of himself by staying in college, he has set his sights on greater things. He leaves Rachida's whitewashed house with food for thought: when the rains came, a volatile Islamic fundamentalist group called "The Party" brought aid to the flooded slum while the state handed out promises it would not keep....

Readers of Lalami's collection of short stories released in 2006 may reflect on the title of that highly acclaimed volume, "Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits," as Youssef makes his way through a labyrinth populated by corrupt commercial interests, inept government employees, "The Party," and news media with a spider web of conflicting agendas.

Lalami's prose and plot in Secret Son are devoid of moralizing and sentimentality, and therein lies the power of her story. The story is not unkind; it's ardently realistic. While the conclusion of Youssef's essentially illegitimate journey into the treacherous world outside his claustrophobic station is by no means predictable, it's as inevitable as Icarus' fall from the spacious sky.

Malcolm R. Campbell, for POD Book Reviews & More Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Moroccan aspirations! June 5, 2009

By M. T. Guzman

Format:Hardcover

The story of Youseff El Mekki begins in Hay An Najat, a poor neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco, where he lives with his mother in a house with no windows, a rusting front door, and a corrugated tin roof held down by rocks. Following Youseff, we see his attempts to improve his station in life by following his dreams and fantasies. This sad story probably reflects life as it is lived by young men who inhabit poorer areas of Morocco, especially those who do not have relatives with a known "name" who might possibly improve their lives.

The characters are real, especially Youseff himself. I think most young people, like Youseff, are idealistic and see themselves in better stations in life as they enter adulthood. What I liked less about this particular story, though, was the action itself which seemed to hopscotch at times from scene to scene without much transition. I found that a bit disconcerting. I would have liked this story to have been more deeply developed. Nevertheless, an interesting technique I did like was that, in two different places within the book, we see the same conversation replayed from two different characters' point of view.

Local color is abundant and very much enriches this novel. There are many phrases tossed with abandon into the story, both in French and Arabic as well as the use of many colloquial terms with which I was not familiar. A glossary at the back of the book would have been be a truly appreciated and helpful addition.

In total, though, I did enjoy reading this novel because it gave me a feel for how one young person from Morocco fit into his culture. It also allowed me to view the similarities and differences with other Islamic cultures with which I'm familiar. Giving me insight into modern Morocco (e.g.... cyber-cafes, cell phones, etc.) contrasted with traditional Morocco (e.g. a "name" is important, you can "pay off" a police officer, etc.) was a highlight of this book and the reason that I'd look for more of this author's work in the future. Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Style, smoothly narrated, but there is a little "but" March 1, 2013

By Rabab

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I personally loved your style of writing, one chapter led me to the other, and I couldn't wait to go back to the book and read what is going to happen next. I love the way Laila Lalami addressed various phenomena that the Moroccan society members encounter everyday, it was so real, and honest.
However, I was reading the book with my friend, and we both hoped the story had a better ending. We thought it was very deceiving that it ended in such a manner.
It was a very interesting book to read, though!