The stories collected in Tales of Tangier draw on Choukris time in the citys bars, cabarets, cafés, and brothels. The fragmented narratives read like journal entries, tossed-off anecdotes, half-remembered nightmares, or surreal reveries. . . . Scabrous, unsettling.Ursula Lindsey, New York Review of Books
Choukri is one of Moroccos most revered figures. . . . To have his words translated is to have the privilege to view the inner world of his intellect and the obscured landscapes of Tangier.Noshin Bokth, The New Arab
A World Literature Today Notable Translation of 2023
Dark and vibrant, full of sex and death and plenty of flies.Marcia Lynx Qualey, Qantara.de
With an unflinching focus on the spaces and people that the Moroccan state would like to keep invisible, Choukris trailblazing stories give voice to the marginalized and constitute a powerful act of literary protest.Jonathan Smolin, Dartmouth College
Jonas Elboustys vivid, precise, and poetic translation brings to English readers a new cache of work by Mohamed Choukri. At once disorienting, violent, strange, and modern, these narratives both enrich and complicate our understanding of the essential Tangier author.Brian T. Edwards, Tulane University
A fabulous introduction to Choukri's work. Jonas Elbousty's translation captures the raw directness of Choukri's style. I would recommend this translation to anyone who would like to read Choukri in English or to learn more about modern Moroccan literature. I also recommend the book to anyone planning a trip to Tangier. The book opens a fascinating window into life in Tangier in the 1960s and 70s.Eric Calderwood, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
