Mohammed Mrabet

Abdeslam, "Lemon" leaves his family after a new teacher arrives at his school. The bright and rebellious youth finds a home with Bachir, a dock worker, Bachir drinks alcohol and frequents prostitutes. The writing at the beginning of the book is choppy with many short sentences, as Abdeslam matures so does the writing. Overall an interesting look at how a child sees the conflicts between Western and Islamic cultures.

The Lemon by Mohammed Mrabet
The story of a young, run-away boy who falls in with bad company, told in a simple, mesmerizing style. The dialogue is especially entertaining, the boy, Abdeslam, is ruthlessly honest to the low-lifes around him. Translated by Paul Bowles.

Great collection of short stories. Some funny, some insightful all contain referernces to Kief.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kief

Fascinating and disturbing. A great intro to North African fiction, especially for the many colonial and gender issues explored from a young boy's perspective. The protagonist also has a very strange relationship with his faith.

See also Mrabet's short story, "The Boy Who Set the Fire."