Leaving Tangier Reader’s Guide

BY TAHAR BEN JELLOUN

Category: Literary Fiction
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READERS GUIDE
Questions and Topics for Discussion
INTRODUCTION
Across the Strait of Gibraltar from Tangier lies a land that holds the possibility of a
better life for Azel, a frustrated and poor young Moroccan: Spain—a refuge from the
poverty and political corruption that infest Morocco. Azel’s only goal is, as he puts
it, to “burn up” the ocean between the two countries. But, beguiled by this dream,
Azel doesn’t anticipate what will happen when he tries to leave his past in the ashes.
This is the conict at the heart of Tahar Ben Jelloun’s Leaving Tangier, his thirtieth
book and a searing portrait of the immigrant journey toward a new life, one where
terrible compromises are made, character is tested, and illusions are lost.

Ben Jelloun’s novel sheds a cold light on a side of North African life that is often
overlooked and at times unimaginable; he is uninching in his commitment to
expose the sacrice and pain inherent in the struggle to rise above poverty and
move within the Western world. Leaving Tangier centers on the paths of Azel and
his sister, Kenza, as they seek to reinvent their lives, in Barcelona, and how their
paths diverge once they get there. Each sibling’s ambition rests in the hands of
Miguel, a mysterious wealthy older Spaniard, and a man generous and loving one
moment, demanding and cruel the next. Miguel’s power lies in what he can offer the
siblings—and in what he can take away. Azel and Kenza, both romantically linked
with Miguel, are forced to face their own characters: They must dene the limits of
their ambitions, their integrity, and what lines they are willing to cross to achieve
their goals.

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While Azel and Kenza are each seduced by the promise of Spain and what it
represents, only one of the siblings achieves their dream; the other descends into
nightmare. Through broken trust and broken hearts, sister and brother learn that
personal reinvention can mean letting go of the best of one’s self. Yet Leaving
Tangier doesn’t look only at Barcelona; it also reects on those left behind in
Morocco—the parents left hoping for the best, the children forced to work in
factories, the aimless men falling prey to religious extremism. Dreams haunt
everyone in the novel, sometimes leading to despair as they crumble, sometimes
providing solace in times of woe. A masterful blend of poetic imagery and powerful
language, Leaving Tangier is a meditation on power, destiny, and love. With its
authentic rendering of people and cities both daring and dangerous, and its honest
look into the complexities of the human heart, Ben Jelloun’s novel is a challenging
read; it dees the conventions of polite society and dares to examine the limits of
ambition and striving, expressing both sympathy and anger over a dark struggle
that still exists today.

ABOUT TAHAR BEN JELLOUN

Tahar Ben Jelloun was born in Fez, Morocco, and immigrated to France in 1961. A
novelist, essayist, critic, and poet, he is a regular contributor to Le Monde, La
Républica, El País, and Panorama. His novels for Penguin include This Blinding
Absence of Light and The Last Friend.

A CONVERSATION WITH TAHAR BEN JELLOUN

Q. You write in French but your books have been translated into many languages.
What do you see as the challenges of publishing your work in translation? What is
the relationship between author and translator when re-creating a text in another
language?
Writing in a language that is not my mother tongue occasionally produces phrases
or even turns of thought which are unusual in French. Some of my translators,
particularly those from Nordic countries, often ask me to make clear how my
characters are related. Others, like the Japanese, ask me to translate some Arabic
words or specify the location of certain geographical places. In general, those
familiar with North Africa and the Mediterranean do not ask me many questions.
The only translation I can read and correct is the Arabic, when it is not one pirated
by Syrian publishers.

Q. Is Leaving Tangier a reection of the current situation in that city? If so, is Spain
still the dominant destination for Moroccans? Do you see any shifts in the pathways
of North African immigration?
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Tangier is a port, a border town where one can see the Spanish coastline. It is not
just Moroccans who come to Tangier to cross the Strait of Gibraltar. It is mainly the
south Saharan Africans who started to come to Tangier in the early nineties. Now
there are fewer and fewer. Monitoring of both sides, and Spanish-Moroccan police
collaboration, has discouraged many candidates for exile. They now go to the
Canary Islands. Morocco ghts against illegal immigration because the main
victims are illegal immigrants themselves, who are being scammed by Maa
smugglers.

Q. The novelist Georges Simenon once said, “I am at home everywhere and

nowhere. I am never a stranger and I never quite belong.” Do you believe this
statement is an apt description of the immigrant experience? As a Moroccan in
France, what has been your own experience as an expatriate? Do you remain the
person you were in your former country, or do you reinvent yourself in your
embraced nation?

I understand the position of Georges Simenon, but I am at home in Morocco,

without a doubt. In France it is another thing; I feel good in France, but sometimes I
feel foreign. It depends on the political situations. And yet, France has given me a
lot, and if I criticize it, it is because I am attached to it. For an immigrant, life is very
different. He is a symbol of the human condition unloved, not recognized, a
condition that places each human being at the level of his ability to work. Being
poor and foreign is not conducive to well-being. In France, immigration is a direct
result of colonization. This is not an enviable condition. My novel Leaving Tangier
has a message for the young: Immigration is not a pleasure trip; it is not a fun
weekend; it is hard and difcult, because there is racism, humiliation, and
loneliness.

Q. Azel’s sexuality is a vehicle for power, used both by him and against him. Do you
see his sexuality as something Azel can adapt to serve his goal of emigration, or is
his sexuality more a statement on the exploitation of his desperation to leave
Tangier? Is this trade of one’s own body for opportunity common?

Azel is a young heterosexual man. He likes to make love to women, but his desire to
leave his country and nd work is stronger than the assumption of his sexuality. At
least in the beginning he thinks he can assume the two sexualities. Soon he realizes
that by selling his body, he is losing his soul. He cannot move from the bed of a
woman to that of a man; he tries to but ends by failing and losing himself. This form
of prostitution exists everywhere there is poverty. It is not more common in
Morocco than elsewhere.

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Q. Do you see the characters in your novel as disappointed and disillusioned more
by their own actions or by the actions of others? If Kenza and Azel are lured by the
dream of a new life in Spain, are they also betrayed by it—or by themselves?

I think they are disappointed in themselves. Especially Azel, who is intelligent but is
overwhelmed by remorse. He cannot stay the course because he is not cynical
enough; he is innocent, and that is why he fails at everything. Kenza was
disappointed by the Turk, but she is strong enough to move on; in any case,
stronger than her brother. She is a positive character whom I like. The two are
examples of the complexity of life when fate is diverted from its path.

Q. Your novels are all brutally honest and occasionally disturbing. What reaction
has your work received, particularly in North Africa and the Middle East? Is there a
marked difference in the response from readers and critics in Europe as opposed to
North America?

This novel was widely read and discussed in Morocco, where I introduced it upon its
release. I do not know if it has caused young people tempted by exile to reect. The
role of literature is limited; a novel cannot change things, but at best it makes
people think. Leaving Tangier was well received in countries very different from
Morocco, like Finland, Sweden, and Korea, and I hope it will help American readers
to better understand what happens, for example, at the Mexican border. The
problems are the same; only the countries are different.

Q. Leaving Tangier is a wrenching and transportive read, but was it equally

emotionally affecting to write? What are your relationships with your characters?

This is a novel that I rewrote three times by changing the construction. I worked a
lot, because I wanted to reach a level where any reader from any country can
identify with one of my characters. I remember the only advice Jean Genet had
given me: “In writing, think of the reader; take him by the hand and tell him your
story.” To think of the reader is to respect him. I like my characters, because I
identify with each one and put myself in his skin like an actor. Fortunately, after the
publication of the book I forget.

Q. Many people anxious to ee to the West are taken advantage of by characters
such as Al Aa, smugglers who make a prot off others’ despair; women are
especially vulnerable to the dangers involved in illegal immigration. Remarkably,
Kenza navigates this path more successfully than Azel, who ounders. Why did you
choose to present the siblings this way?
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Women in Morocco are more interesting, more combative, more demanding. Kenza
could have chosen the easy solution and fallen into prostitution, but she has values
and principles and is realistic at the same time. That’s why she does better than her
brother, who will not be strong enough to withstand the difculties of life.

Q. Edward Said argued that literature and criticism from the West about the East
creates false impressions of Arab and Eastern countries and reinforces a divide
between the cultures. Do you agree with this? Where do you feel you are within this
divide? What cultural concerns do you feel your work addresses?

He is right. The view that the West imposed on the Arab world has always been one
of superiority, resulting in colonization. However, there have been very talented
Orientalists, honest people like Jacques Berque, Maxime Rodinson, Louis
Massignon, etc. They tried to talk about the Arab world from the inside. They spoke
Arabic and were acquainted with the basic texts of the language. Today we are
witnessing a vision based on prejudice and mediocrity. Arab culture is devalued,
poorly understood, even ignored. This is because of political problems and
nondemocratic leaders, and then also because of the oil that has distorted the true
meanings of this civilization.

Q. Could you discuss the character of Moha and the signicance of the timing of
his appearance halfway through the novel?

Moha is my favorite character—my double who runs through all of my books. He is

speech, the voice of justice; he is my Zarathustra! He speaks frankly, because he is
regarded as insane or wise. He intervenes at the end to give the novel its literary
and surrealist color.

Q, This is your thirtieth book—how are you able to be so prolic? What is your
writing routine? How do you prepare for each work? Of all the forms in which you
write, which do you feel suits you best?

I work every day; it is a daily discipline. I have many stories to tell, because I come
from a society that has a great wealth of tales; it’s enough to just listen to people
talking in a café to put one to work. I am proud and happy to belong to the
Moroccan society because it feeds my imagination and provides me with good
subjects. Right now I’m working on a book calledMorocco-Novel, where I try to say
everything, just tell what I see, what I hear. I’ve been working on it for two years, and
I still have a year to go. It is inexhaustible.
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
The characters refer to crossing the Strait of Gibraltar as “burning up” the ocean.
What does this expression convey about the feelings Moroccans have toward the
journey between Spain and Tangiers?

Does Kenza achieve her goals in Barcelona? Why does she return to Morocco?

What is the appeal of extremist religions such as the radical Islamist organization
that attempts to recruit Azel? Why did they target him? Why does he react the way
he does?

Is Miguel a sympathetic character? What is his purpose in the novel? Does he

ultimately help or hurt the siblings?

Can Kenza and Azel really leave Tangiers? They physically leave, but what about
culturally and emotionally? What examples from the novel support your opinion?

Is it possible to reinvent yourself? If not, why? If so, is it necessary to leave your

friends, home, or country in order to do so?

Who is the old woman in Malika’s dream? What was your reaction to her death?

The United States is a country built by immigrants, yet many people feel the
country is currently plagued by illegal immigration. Is there ever any justication
for illegal immigration? Do you sympathize with Azel and Kenza’s desire to leave?
Would their stories have been different had they immigrated to the United States?
Would your response to their situation have been different?

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The perspective from which Leaving Tangier is told switches from character to
character, chapter to chapter. How does each chapter shift the development of the
overall story line of the novel?

Discuss the nal chapter. What does it mean? Why does each character return in
the manner that he or she does?

The image of re occurs frequently throughout Leaving Tangier. How does it
function as a metaphor for the novel? Why is Al Aa’s name appropriate for his work
as a smuggler? What is the “ultimate ame” mentioned in the last line of the book?