Queereaders discussion

ABDELLAH TAIA

"Salvation Army" by Abdellah Taia is not a complicated on the surface. It tells the story of a young gay Moroccan boy who grows up in large family and later comes to Europe in the pursuit of sexual and intellectual freedom. When his friend does not show up at the airport in Geneva to pick him up, he is forced to seek shelter at the Salvation Army. It is not your average coming of age story. Taia puts together an amazingly sobering story about growing up in a culture in which your freedom to make choices is not considered. He is in love with his brother and has erotic fantasies about him and the brother doesn't seem to notice. The fact of having eleven siblings can leave anyone feeling lost in their own family, but Taia retains a distinct personality through and through. He gets mixed up with Swiss sex tourists -- one who helps him achieve his dreams of leaving Morocco to study further.

Whether he is writing about North Africa or Western Europe, Taia seems to have found a way to put things in perspective -- at least for himself. He finds North African lovers be warm, passionate and full of love for life. On the other hand, his Western European affairs tend to leave him yearning for more. And while he finds laughter and the exotic bliss of life in his family, it is Western Europe where yearns to find the peace and happiness one finds in freedom.

Taia's autobiographical novel is an engaging read.

Thanks Brian. This looks quite interesting. I had a bit of trouble finding the book page because the author has 2 pages. See

Salvation Army and Abdellah Taïa.

Interestingly, the Introduction is written by Edmund White

"Abdellah Taïa is a brilliant young Moroccan living in France. In this novel, appropriately, he talks about his first contacts with Europeans. We learn about the traditional Moroccan family, about Swiss sex tourists, about the Salvation Army in Geneva, about the first burgeoning of desire in a young Arab, about family love and carnal love. Taïa has a captivating way of taking us into his confidence and telling us essential truths."
—Edmund White

Hey Brian, that book sounds truly wonderful.

I've added it to my to-read books. As soon as I have a chance, I'll get myself a copy of that.

Any more autobiographical work? I was actually thinking about looking for more non-fiction work lately and this one sounds like a remarkable title.