About My Mother book. He also listens to her imaginary conversations, hallucinations, and redundant rants with extraordinary patience. You accept it as life’s gift and do your utmost to be worthy and proud of it.”. In that sense, it’s … This kind of passage, which occurs early in the book, is enlightening, purposeful and promising. He comes to know about his mother’s life in post-war Morocco and to understand why resignation to her fate in a culture of female containment was her only way to survive.
. Given the accolades this author has garnered, it seems disrespectful to say that the story needed more character development, perhaps a subplot or two, or more humor. .
After all, Lalla Fatma is not their own suffering mother and therefore the repetitive nature of this tale renders the author’s work a challenge and a disappointment. A Message from Mike Rowe, the Dirty Jobs Guy: Just to be clear, About My Mother is a book about my grandmother, written by my mother.
In fact, About My Mother is as much about my mother as it is about my grandmother. The bad news is that like the narrator, readers must suffer through the long, slow, agonizing demise of his mother who has end-stage Alzheimer’s. That’s not to say it’s not about my mother—it is. . Tahar visits regularly (unlike his siblings) and listens to his mother’s long-hidden secrets and stories, including those of her widowhood at age 16 and the two husbands who followed. . About My Mother: A Novel by Tahar Ben Jelloun book review. . Click to read the full review of About My Mother: A Novel in New York Journal of Books. In that … In fact, About My Mother is as much about my mother as it is about my grandmother. And I’m bored.” Alas, it seems likely that many readers will be, too. But the story soon offers less of this kind of insight and devolves into pitifully repetitive whining sessions with Tahar’s mother, coupled with the verbal aggression of her caretaker, Keltum. . The problem is readers are unlikely to share his good grace. We live in fear of one day being denied our parents’ blessing. [A relative] is bored.
It seems to serve no purpose and to offer no new enlightenment. She reviews fiction as well as nonfiction for the Brattleboro (VT) Reformer. Read 450 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Lalla Fatma, the narrator’s mother, thinks she is in Fez in 1944 where she grew up throughout much of this rather laborious mother-son story. In that … Review written by Elayne Clift. A Message from Mike Rowe, the Dirty Jobs Guy: Just to be clear, About My Mother is a book about my grandmother, written by my mother. In that sense, it’s really a book about my “mothers.” It is not, however, a book written by me. Just to be clear, About My Mother… is a book about my grandmother, written by my mother. That’s not to say About My Mother… is not about my mother – it is. . She has just completed her first novel, Hester’s Daughters, based on The Scarlet Letter. That doesn’t mean there are no problems or arguments, but we cultivate love above all.
True, I did write the foreword, and yes – I’m clearly pictured (in the … They have to do with everything from family relations, friendships, gender roles, marriage rituals, mother love, and more. That’s not to say it’s not about my mother—it is. Filial love is a bond that can’t be quantified. But as Tahar’s mother proclaims near the end of the story, “Keltum’s bored. There are some wonderful episodes recounted by Tahar, the son-narrator. That’s not to say it’s not about my mother—it is. The strength of this novel lies in explaining Moroccan culture. Elayne Clift’s award-winning short fiction has appeared in numerous literary magazines and anthologies. For example, in comparing how elders are treated there in comparison to other places, Ben Jelloun writes, “In Morocco, besides the love of God, we’re taught an almost religious reverence for our parents. Readers who enjoy cross-cultural novels, have been to Morocco (or wish to go), and want to know more about life in a conservative Muslim country will be drawn to his story about a devoted son and the life of his dying mother. . In the west [this] seem ridiculous, or psychologically unacceptable. That’s a sad way to leave a book that could have been truly beautiful. A Message from Mike Rowe, the Dirty Jobs Guy: Just to be clear, About My Mother is a book about my grandmother, written by my mother. That’s the good news. In fact, About My Mother is as much about my mother as it is about my grandmother.