Set against the backdrop of Casablanca during the tumultuous Bread Riots of 1981, the narrative intertwines myth and reality through the story of Maryam Tair, a child born under extraordinary circumstances. Infused with the scent of orange blossoms, she embodies both magical gifts and a haunting curse. The novel explores themes of solitude, resilience, and the intersection of ancient legends with contemporary struggles, all while revealing deep familial ties and the secrets that bind generations together in a richly textured landscape.
This novel showcases the author's signature evocative style, weaving a rich narrative that delves into profound themes and emotional depth. It promises to engage readers with its compelling characters and intricate storytelling, inviting them to explore the complexities of human experience. The award-winning author's previous work, Dreams of Maryam Tair, sets a high bar, and this new offering is poised to captivate audiences with its unique insights and lyrical prose.
In a country where the precarious rights of women and children can be reversed in an instant, legacies of enslavement and quiet resistance still reverberate across time. Present-day Casablanca, Morocco: Nadine Alam, a physician by training and housewife by choice, has reached her hour of reckoning. Her marriage has broken down, her teenage daughter Al has retreated into silence, and now her young housekeeper Ghalia has disappeared under mysterious circumstances. One morning, Nadine receives an envelope from an unidentified sender. Inside it is a newspaper clipping, an article about a single mother and her newborn child, a boy named Noor—typically a name given to girls, meaning light. Nadine’s country is one where single mothers and children born out of wedlock are considered pariahs, outside the protection of the law. Why would a journalist disclose the child’s name? And why was she sent this clipping? Nadine embarks on a search that takes her into a Casablanca she barely knew existed, into her own family’s history and her country’s past, in which her family is entwined. A vivid, kaleidoscopic portrait of a Casablanca household.
