Laila Lalami was born in Morocco and this is her story of a boy growing up in the slums of Hay an Najat, in Casablanca. Youseff has dreams of a better life and he studies hard to gain the qualifications that will, he hopes, earn a more prosperous life for himself and his mother, a widow. But his hopes are fulfilled in a way he can't even imagine in his wildest dreams.
Transported into a life of luxury, he leaves his old life behind until fate again intervenes and he has to return to the slums. Disillusioned and disengaged from his old life, he is drawn into a world of fundamentalism where friends can be enemies and enemies are still enemies. He discovers, too late, that sometimes innocence is no protection and lives can be lost in other ways than death.
This is a short book, only a little longer than a novella, but Laila Lalami has a way with words that packs much meaning into each sentence, yet leaves the reader able to fill in any blanks from their own imagination without realising that this is what they've done.
A thoughtful story of rich and poor, of how poverty and thwarted dreams can warp minds and how faith, even to the faithless, can be used to promote evil. Laila Lalami writes simply, with understated passion and sadness. Recommended.
The Secret Son is published by Penguin, ISBN 978-0-141-04273-2
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