Moorish Dreams

Staying on the same depressing subject of the previous post (Drowning Dreams), Laila Lalami, a Moroccan writer living in the US, has chosen illegal immigration as the subject of her first novel Hope and other dangerous pursuits.

The novel starts with a prologue detailing a desperate attempt by Moroccan men, women, and children, crowded in an inflatable boat, to cross the strait of Gibraltar and reach Spain in pursuit of happier lives. Most of those poor souls are lost at sea before setting foot on the hostile Spanish shore.

Laila then introduces us to the lives of four of those dreamers before and after the crossing attempt. The stories of Faten, Aziz, Mourad & Halima are realistic and the images Laila paints will stay with you long after you finish reading her book.

I have no doubt that similar stories are being told by the families of the 200 Egyptians lost at sea as they attempted to pursue similar dreams.

p.s. Laila Lalami (also known as Moorish Girl) has a blog at the following link: http://www.lailalalami.com/blog/