Description
Book SynopsisIn 1980s Casablanca, Farah arrives from her small town life with big dreams: she wants to sing. She meets Outhman, but he longs to leave the city, to seek his fortune elsewhere. They fall in love, but trouble brews on the horizon. A bitter struggle rages over construction of the monumental Hassan II Mosque—it will destroy their neighborhood but the government insist this is a necessary sacrifice for the good of Morocco. The two young lovers find themselves caught up in events beyond their control, and in a world that seems to work against their happiness at every turn. A Shimmering Red Fish Swims with Me is a narrative tour de force: one of power plays and petty jealousies, deceit and corruption, written with masterful attention to detail.
Trade ReviewShortlisted for the Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation
“The work of a master storyteller, A Shimmering Red Fish Swims with Me juxtaposes the grand designs of the privileged against the minutiae of the lives of the less fortunate in a passionate, furious work of protest against injustice. Set in the historical, working-class quarter of Casablanca, whose residents are being expelled to accommodate the construction of the new grandiose Hassan II Mosque, the novel centers on a tragic love story, which is traced in witty, playful and humane prose, including the use of local dialect. Overall, the tone of the novel is grand and classical, and this confers upon the book a certain furious dignity that has been brilliantly captured in Alexander E. Elinson’s sensitive and accomplished translation.” —Judges' comments, Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize
"Fadel’s novel is deeply human and humane....astonishing" —Asymptote Journal
"An ambitious novel in form, with captivating narrative and language, that poses questions beyond its immediate context.” —Mohamed Berrada, author of Like a Summer Never to Be Repeated
"Masterfully translated . . . A Shimmering Red Fish Swims with Me will draw readers into a world that, on the surface, may be unfamiliar, but is, in fact immediately recognizable for what it reveals about our human desires, flaws and triumphs."—Elizabeth Nunez, author of Prospero’s Daughter
Praise for Youssef Fadel:
“[Fadel’s] books are full of hopeful, human interactions; through these, the reader is able to catch a glimpse of a better world.”—The New Yorker
"An astonishing novel." —Le Monde Diplomatique
"[Fadel is] a valued asset of modern Moroccan literature." —Aujourd'hui Le Maroc
"A masterful history of modern Morocco."—bookshy
"Reads like a taut and claustrophobic detective story."—Literary Hub
"Fadel's novel brings out the importance of seeing one's place even in the darkest of times."—Wawa Book Review
"Events progress rapidly with the acute tension of a detective novel." —The National
