Although, honestly, I believe very sincerely in the idea of basic human rights (I’ve said my pieces about it, and I believe everyone should be entitled to the same basic rights and such), there are only two incidents in my life which moved me so deeply that I seriously considered taking action to ensure everyone would be guaranteed said rights. The first event was the media kerfuffle created over the case of a Syrian-born software engineer by the name of� Maher Arar. The second event was the reading of this novel.
Though the story of the Oufkir family takes place thirty years before the present time, I’m still disgusted by the fact that such a blatant disregard for justice can occur. Especially in a country which, at least in the nineteen-fifties (twenty years before the novel) claimed to be civilized. I mean, could you imagine being imprisoned and torturted in this day and age simply because your father had committed a crime? Probably not. I know that I couldn’t imagine it.
And yet that’s exactly what happened to the Oufkirs in Morocco, in the 1970s. Six children and three women were imprisoned because one man (who was later put to death) attempted to assassinate the king. Nine innocent lives were ruined because of the machinations of one person and because of the anger of a monarch. Not to mention, a monarch who took part in raising the later-jailed author (Malika), as she was requested to live with the then-princess and grow up with her. Someone she treated as a father being betrayed by her blood father and then betraying her and the remains her family in turn.
Sounds like something Orwell would think up just to show us the degraded state of society.
Which is probably why I find myself so incapable of expressing the need for everyone to read this novel. And not just because the story in general is good, but for active reading purposes (and out come the highschool English lessons).
Needless to say, the book provokes thought. And not just about human rights, but about human excesses and the strength of the spirit as well. And all of the things we take for granted in this world.
A definite must-read, simply put.
Favourite Quotation:
“Towards the end, we were like caged beasts. We were no longer even capable of feelings. We were tired and enraged, aggressive and cruel. None of us wanted to go on wearing a mask. We no longer believed in anything.” (238) — Once again, I’m at a loss for words. Being treated so badly that one loses his or her humanity… I think it may actually be so terrible that it’s beyond my own rather limited understanding.