Most recent novels about Essaouira

Head of Mule

"Head of Mule" is a novel which epitomises Mr Qabbal's literary talents,imagination and originality. Said, the protagonist, is both the narrator and hero of this exquisite novel. His ability to narrate the story in the first-person singular with such ease and depth betrays his emotional and linguistic affinities with the writer,and pinpoints the novel as an autobiography. Whether it is an autobiography or not, does not affect in any way the reader's approach to the narrative. The reader,taken by the story events, finds himself deeply involved in the problems it raises, and eventually doomed to position himself/herself vis-à-vis the situation-problems and the suspended solutions. By setting the scenes of his story in the countryside school and peopling it with vilain teachers and deceitful pupils,Mr Qabbal is certainly inviting the reader to break away from the authority of the teacher and the authority of the writer(a teacher himself)to relive the entire freedom childhood offers.A battery of innocent tricks and pranks bring in some fun. Parallels with Tom and Jerry cartoons also contain parables, lessons and some homework for the dynamic reader whom the writer challenges to find a way or ways out of the teaching impasse in our country.