Lhoussain Simour brings a depth and breadth of knowledge about Moroccan fiction to his study of the works of Mohamed Zafzaf. Too often, Arabic language writing is passed over in English language scholarship on Morocco and this study demonstrates the vibrancy of writing in Arabic, especially the complex interplay of aesthetics and politics in fictional writing. The chapters of the book trace Zafzaf’s novelistic trajectory, and offer a thorough exploration of Moroccan literary history as well as its dynamic literary scenes, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s. I learned a great deal from Simour’s study and recommend it.

Michelle Hartman, McGill University

Simour offers readers of English a detailed and carefully nuanced study of the life and fictional works of Mohamed Zafzaf, one of the primary participants in the early stages of the development of a tradition of modern Moroccan Arabic fiction. However, even within that more limited regional context, the author notes that Zafzaf’s contribution has thus far been somewhat overlooked, whence the significance of this study.

Roger Allen, University of Pennsylvania

Simour offers a cogent and expansive study of the works of Mohamed Zafzaf one of Morocco’s most famous twentieth century Arabic-language novelists and poets. From examining the environments of the poor and underprivileged in the Morocco of the 1970s and 1980s during the infamous “Years of Lead” under King Hassan II, to Zafzaf’s more social-realist texts of the early 1990s, Simour reveals the literary world of an author little known to anglophone readers. Zafzaf’s writing reflects a postcolonial Morocco in the effervescence of transformation as populated by a newly liberated culture able to engage with the social, political, and historical challenges of its era.

Valérie K. Orlando, University of Maryland

This book sets out to address the relative neglect of the literary accomplishments of Moroccan writer Mohamed Zafzaf. Attending to Zafzaf’s use of poetic and social realism, it incisively and empathetically guides the reader through the ways in which Zafzaf’s novels scrutinize and illuminate conditions of marginalization and estrangement in postcolonial Morocco. Simour’s study thereby achieves an impressive and most welcome breakthrough in the reception of Zafzaf’s work.

Caroline Rooney, University of Kent