A Palace in the Old Village: A Novel
Mohammed Ben Abdallah has lived a devout, quiet life in France, always longing for his home country, Morocco. Now facing mandatory retirement from the factory where he�s worked all of his adult life, he contemplates going home to Morocco for good. His dream is to build a house large enough for his six children and their families to join him. Though he loathes the forced retirement, Mohammed is gripped by this dream and starts construction on his dream house, even though his rebellious, thoroughly Westernized children show no interest in joining him at his house or forming much of a relationship with their old-fashioned father. Esteemed Moroccan author Ben Jalloun explores Mohammed�s complicated feelings of ennui and alienation from the country that has been his home for decades and from his own children, whom he neither knows nor understands. The story builds to an end that seems as inevitable as it is symbolic of Mohammed�s isolation within his own family. Lovers of literary fiction should take note of this affecting novel. --Kristine Huntley