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A review by manorclassics
A Palace in the Old Village by Tahar Ben Jelloun
challenging
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
"The contract is clear: I work, they pay me, I raise my children, and then one day we all go home to our house, yes, because the house is my country, my native land."
Ostensibly this is the story of a man's life after retirement, but I would describe it more as a tangle of memories, disillusionment and disappointed hopes. I liked something about the style, but I found myself confused by the shifts between third person and first person narration and I couldn't always figure out whether the time jumps were real or in Mohammed's mind. Things picked up for me in the final third but then the ending totally lost me... I don't mind a meandering narrative or stream of consciousness type of thing, but it all became a bit too fantastical for my taste. So not for me, but I'd like to try another book by Ben Jelloun in future.
Ostensibly this is the story of a man's life after retirement, but I would describe it more as a tangle of memories, disillusionment and disappointed hopes. I liked something about the style, but I found myself confused by the shifts between third person and first person narration and I couldn't always figure out whether the time jumps were real or in Mohammed's mind. Things picked up for me in the final third but then the ending totally lost me... I don't mind a meandering narrative or stream of consciousness type of thing, but it all became a bit too fantastical for my taste. So not for me, but I'd like to try another book by Ben Jelloun in future.