This Blinding Absence of Light

In this extraordinary non-fiction novel, based on a true story, Tahar Ben Jelloun traces the experiences of Salim who, in 1971, took part in a failed coup attempt to oust King Hassan II of Morocco. With sixty others Salim was incarcerated in a secret prison complex in the Moroccan desert: he was to remain there for nearly twenty years.



In starkly eloquent, beautiful prose, Ben Jelloun relates the prisoners'' experiences as they struggle to survive. The son of a witty, feckless courtier who disowns him, Salim tells stories to keep sane - from the suras of his beloved Koran to the plot of A Streetcar Named Desire. Even in the darkest, most terrible conditions, sympathy, insight, the human quest for meaning and understanding, never desert Salim. The resulting novel is a wrenching yet exquisite celebration of the human spirit and its determination to survive.



''A masterpiece'' Judges of the IMPAC award



''a sad and splendid book'' New York Times Book Review

• | Author: Tahar Ben Jelloun
• | Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• | Publication Date: Sep 01, 2005
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language: eng
• | Binding: Paperback / softback
• | ISBN-13: 9780141022826
• | ISBN-10: 0141022825