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Loading... Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuitsby Laila Lalami
LibraryThing recommendationsMember recommendationsLoading...
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.  Tinwara | Feb 20, 2009 |  I liked this book well enough. It wasn't what I had expected after the first chapter. The stories were interesting. I liked how the book was divided into two parts; the story of before they decided to immigrate and then the story of what happened to them after they arrived. It was very well written, but nothing to jump for joy about. I liked the different take on immigration. I am used to reading books about people immigrating to the US, so this was a nice change. (  ) goldiebear | Feb 18, 2009 | This is the first book that I've read about modern Morocco by a Moroccan writer and the essay style chapters give a lot of interesting information in not many pages. The theme is heavily pessimistic with corrupt government and unemployment at home, or exploitation should they emigrate (mostly illegaly) to Spain. Living as I do in one of the most popular destinations in Spain for Moroccan immigrants, and only speaking for what I see here, most of them have jobs, are very good humoured, and have recently turned quite strongly religious with all the women wearing headscarves. This doesn't agree with what she says in her book (apart from the new headscarves) and I suspect that she's also unduly downbeat on development in Morocco itself. Neverthless it's a quick read and told me a lot about an unfamiliar society. Miro | Jul 6, 2008 | I had higher hopes for this book but was gravely disappointed in it. (  ) Temple1215 | Jun 1, 2008 | 2000's Four sad stories of Middle Easterners. (  ) bunny0055 | Mar 28, 2008 |  no reviews | add a review
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| Book description |
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Less a novel than a series of biographical sketches, the book seems at times like a tease; Lalami does such a beautiful job creating her characters that readers will undoubtedly be left wanting more. Still, each portrait gives us a chance to not only engage with the character, but to gain an understanding of the religious, socio-economic, and emotional circumstances that compel each person to leave Morocco. Faten, a student who dons the hijab, is forced to flee when her religious beliefs start threatening the lives of influential educators. Murad, a serious, educated young man chances the crossing in search of a better life, where he doesn't have to hustle tourists to make a living. In each scene, Lalami bring Moroccan culture to life, from the tree-lined suburbs of Rabat to the Douar Lhajja slum, "where couscous pots were used as satellite dishes."
With Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, Lalami creates a world that is both modern and traditional, hopeful and desperate, mournful and joyous. Readers can look forward to much more from this talented new voice. --Gisele Toueg
(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:20 -0400)
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Laila Lalami is a LibraryThing Author, an author who lists their personal library on LibraryThing.
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Wikipedia in English (2)
It is not exceptionally good in a literary way, or thought provoking. Each of the characters in the book deserves more attention, more than can be given to them in the short story like style that Lalami uses. Therefore it isn't one of the books that just strike me like lightning, and that I will still remember five years from now, but still, it was a pleasant and interesting read. Worthwhile. (