Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits
Ratings5
Average rating3.9
15
Ratings5
Average rating3.9
“A dream of a debut, by turns troubling adn glorious, angry and wise.” —Junot Diaz Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits evokes the grit and enduring grace that is modern Morocco. As four Moroccans illegally cross the Strait of Gibraltar in an inflatable boat headed for Spain, author Laila Lalami asks, What has driven them to risk their lives? And will the rewards prove to be worth the danger? There’s Murad, a gentle, unemployed man who’s been reduced to hustling tourists around Tangier; Halima, who’s fleeing her drunken husband and the slums of Casablanca; Aziz, who must leave behind his devoted wife in hope of securing work in Spain; and Faten, a student and religious fanatic whose faith is at odds with an influential man determined to destroy her future. Sensitively written with beauty and boldness, this is a gripping book about what propels people to risk their lives in search of a better future.
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Most of us know Lalami for her Pulitzer finalist THE MOOR'S ACCOUNT or her 2020 essay collection CONDITIONAL CITIZENS. This is her debut novel, originally published in 2005. This slice of life novel follows the lives of four Moroccans in pursuit of a better future in Spain. In just under 200 pages, we get a glimpse at their lives before and after they cross the Strait of Gibraltar. While this book lacks the polish and depth of THE MOOR'S ACCOUNT, I was nonetheless captivated by these storylines and how they show the many possible reasons and outcomes for taking such risk.
Though set in Morocco, not Mexico, and the body of water crossed is the Mediterranean, not the Rio Grande, the stories of the desperate immigrants told in this book are eerily similar to those of many new Texans. The writing is lovely and the stories are captivating.
