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En las puertas de Tánger (Ancora Y Delfin)
Cuando muere el padre de los Benzimra, deja un testamento en el que anuncia a su familia la existencia de un hijo ilegítimo fruto de su relación con una mujer musulmana en Marruecos. Para recibir la herencia, su familia debe hacer todo lo posible por encontrarlo. Emprenden así un viaje a Tetuán desde lugares tan distintos como Jerusalén, Madrid, Nueva York y París en busca de ese hermano perdido; un viaje que les enfrentará con sus raíces marroquíes, con su judaísmo, que les hará preguntarse sobre su identidad; una experiencia tras la que ya no volverán a ser los mismos.Una obra que pone al descubierto cómo vive la sociedad israeli en pleno conflicto sefardí-asquenazí, los lazos y tensiones entre el mundo árabe y Europa, entre la cultura de oriente medio y la cultura occidental. Un mundo con complejidades y matices que a menudo quedan desdibujados en la versión que muestran los medios de comunicación.
- GenresFiction
155 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
61 people are currently reading
581 people want to read
About the author
Mois Benarroch
221 books37 followersMois Benarroch is one of the most enigmatic figures in today's world literature. Born in Morocco, his writings are rooted in the country's landscapes and history; as a Sephardi Jew he travels the world of Jewish literature; and as in Israeli living in Jerusalem he incorporates the day to day life and politics of his country. A prolific novelist and poet who writes in three languages he never sets for one secure path and is always exploring new ways to make his literature a fresh one with a long time vision.
His poetry is one of compassion, social-political fight, and human. Multicultural by force, where others take multiculturalism as an idea, his life is forced to live within cultures. His novels take us from literary travel, to science-fiction, time travel back and forth, and a view that encompasses the past and the future, the relationships between Jews and Muslims, the life within cultures and the tragic fate of Christian-Jewish relations, always living a place for hope a belief in better days to come.
Known mainly as a poet in the English language world, thanks to a massive support from independent writers many of his novels are seeing light in English. Gates to Tangier, The Cathedral, Muriel, the Nobel Prize, Lucena, Raque Says (Something Entirely Unexpected), have been published in 2015 and many more are on their way in the next year.
A best-selling novelist in Spain, an award winning poet in Israel, and often featured in the bestselling list of poetry books sold in amazon, now is the time to discover this old new writer with more than 30 books to his name.
Mois Benarroch was born in 1959, and has been awarded with the prestigious Amichay poetry prize in 2012.
"GATES TO TANGIER/EN LAS PUERTAS DE TÁNGER is not primarily a critique of the marginalization of the Sephardim in Israel, but rather an exploration of the Moroccan component of Sephardic identity. The Benzimra's pilgrimage to Tangiers, however is not suggesting that this Moroccan component is the essence of Sephardic identity. Benarroch follows Khatibi's bilingual paradigm in suggesting that identity is expressed in the intersection of languages. At one point in the novel, Alberto reflects on the significance of his own bilingual écriture... Unlike Bendahan, who translates Sephardic identity as ultimately European, the Sephardic communities are after all "embajadas españolas" Benarroch explores the Moroccaness of Sephardic identity as it is rearticulated, deferred, by Spanish and Hebrew... The search for the missing brother represents the promise of a stable identity, a mirage that in EN EN LAS PUERTAS DE TÁNGER is constantly metamorphosing. Toward the end of the novel, we find out Yusuf was injured during his circumcision and the doctors decided to treat him with hormones transforming him into Zohra Elbaz. While in Tangiers, Zohra runs into Fortu/Messod and they spend the night together at fortu-Messod's hotel. Benarroch has Zohra run into not one, not two, but three Benzimra men."
Adolfo Campoy-Cubillo. Memories of the Maghreb: Transnational Identities in Spanish Cultural Production,
Mois Benarroch nació en Tetuán, Marruecos en 1959. A los trece años emigra con sus padres a Israel y desde entonces vive en Jerusalén. Empieza a escribir poesía a los quince años, en inglés, después en hebreo, y finalmente en su lengua materna, el castellano. Publica sus primeros poemas en 1979. En los años 80 forma parte de varios grupos de vanguardia y edita la revista Marot. Su primer libro en hebreo aparece en 1994, titulado "Coplas del inmigrante". Publica también dos libros de cuentos, varios libros de poemas en Hebreo , Inglés y Español, y cuatro novelas. En el 2008 es galardonado con el premio del primer ministro en Israel.
En España ha publicado el poemario "Esquina en Tetuán" (Esquío, 2000) y en 2005 la novela "Lucena" (Lf ediciones). En el 2008 la editorial Destino publica la novela "En Las Puertas De Tánger"que llegó al TOP5 en Kindle Espa
His poetry is one of compassion, social-political fight, and human. Multicultural by force, where others take multiculturalism as an idea, his life is forced to live within cultures. His novels take us from literary travel, to science-fiction, time travel back and forth, and a view that encompasses the past and the future, the relationships between Jews and Muslims, the life within cultures and the tragic fate of Christian-Jewish relations, always living a place for hope a belief in better days to come.
Known mainly as a poet in the English language world, thanks to a massive support from independent writers many of his novels are seeing light in English. Gates to Tangier, The Cathedral, Muriel, the Nobel Prize, Lucena, Raque Says (Something Entirely Unexpected), have been published in 2015 and many more are on their way in the next year.
A best-selling novelist in Spain, an award winning poet in Israel, and often featured in the bestselling list of poetry books sold in amazon, now is the time to discover this old new writer with more than 30 books to his name.
Mois Benarroch was born in 1959, and has been awarded with the prestigious Amichay poetry prize in 2012.
"GATES TO TANGIER/EN LAS PUERTAS DE TÁNGER is not primarily a critique of the marginalization of the Sephardim in Israel, but rather an exploration of the Moroccan component of Sephardic identity. The Benzimra's pilgrimage to Tangiers, however is not suggesting that this Moroccan component is the essence of Sephardic identity. Benarroch follows Khatibi's bilingual paradigm in suggesting that identity is expressed in the intersection of languages. At one point in the novel, Alberto reflects on the significance of his own bilingual écriture... Unlike Bendahan, who translates Sephardic identity as ultimately European, the Sephardic communities are after all "embajadas españolas" Benarroch explores the Moroccaness of Sephardic identity as it is rearticulated, deferred, by Spanish and Hebrew... The search for the missing brother represents the promise of a stable identity, a mirage that in EN EN LAS PUERTAS DE TÁNGER is constantly metamorphosing. Toward the end of the novel, we find out Yusuf was injured during his circumcision and the doctors decided to treat him with hormones transforming him into Zohra Elbaz. While in Tangiers, Zohra runs into Fortu/Messod and they spend the night together at fortu-Messod's hotel. Benarroch has Zohra run into not one, not two, but three Benzimra men."
Adolfo Campoy-Cubillo. Memories of the Maghreb: Transnational Identities in Spanish Cultural Production,
Mois Benarroch nació en Tetuán, Marruecos en 1959. A los trece años emigra con sus padres a Israel y desde entonces vive en Jerusalén. Empieza a escribir poesía a los quince años, en inglés, después en hebreo, y finalmente en su lengua materna, el castellano. Publica sus primeros poemas en 1979. En los años 80 forma parte de varios grupos de vanguardia y edita la revista Marot. Su primer libro en hebreo aparece en 1994, titulado "Coplas del inmigrante". Publica también dos libros de cuentos, varios libros de poemas en Hebreo , Inglés y Español, y cuatro novelas. En el 2008 es galardonado con el premio del primer ministro en Israel.
En España ha publicado el poemario "Esquina en Tetuán" (Esquío, 2000) y en 2005 la novela "Lucena" (Lf ediciones). En el 2008 la editorial Destino publica la novela "En Las Puertas De Tánger"que llegó al TOP5 en Kindle Espa
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 28, 2016
Literatura israelí y, de algún modo, también española y marroquí. Se trata de un coro de monólogos interiores y de un conjunto de encuentros-desencuentros con Tetuán de fondo, la ciudad en que nació el autor; el desencuentro de los sefardíes con los askenazis en Israel, y la llaga en el alma de ser judío.
December 13, 2016
With the death of their father, a family gathers to hear the will. Alas their is a clause. An illegitimate child was born in Morocco and must be found before the proceeds of the will come to fruition. I found this tale slow going and apart from the initial concept and first chapters i never got into the story.
January 7, 2017
Review can also be found in Chill and read
The book starts off at a lawyer’s office, where the Benzimra family is being read about the deceased father’s will. The will informs the family that the late Benzimra has a illegitimate son and if they want to get their hands on the inheritance, they need to find him. The brother to all is to be found in Morocco where their father used to live. From that point onwards, the brothers and sisters go on a trip all together, apart from the little sister who is pregnant, in search of the new half brother of theirs.
The book travels the reader through many cities of the world, wherever there are Jews to be found, Morocco, Jerusalem, Madrid, New York, Paris and elsewhere. The Benzimra family leaves all over the world. Some are located in Jerusalem, a brother is in Madrid, another is in New York, a sister is in Paris. The family used to live in Morocco, but they emigrated to all those places in fear of what could possible happen to them, being Jews.
The chapters of the book are named after the brother or sister that is actually providing their thoughts and actions about this whole mess. Every chapter is different than the previous one as the story evolves. They don’t repeat the same events, but they carry on from where the previous one stopped. And this is the nice thing about this book, as there is one story told by many people and there is no re-telling!
The basic theme around this book is actually the Jews. One that does not know much about them, can read it and learn a lot. Of course we all know about the Nazis and the holocaust and we all hate it. However, there is a tendency that people accuse Jews for all the bad things in this world. Yes, the Jewish people are scattered around the world, as they didn’t really have a home until the country of Israel was created. However, many have not accepted that. And the Jews hate that there cannot be a year, a month or even a week, without a dead Jew, a murdered one, not one dying of natural causes.
It has been a little difficult to go through the book. It was especially because if you are not surrounded by Jews, you don’t really know their customs and their way of thinking and all. It can be a little tiring. On the other hand, it could be mentioned as a masterpiece by a real Jew or one that understands the Jewish people.
The book starts off at a lawyer’s office, where the Benzimra family is being read about the deceased father’s will. The will informs the family that the late Benzimra has a illegitimate son and if they want to get their hands on the inheritance, they need to find him. The brother to all is to be found in Morocco where their father used to live. From that point onwards, the brothers and sisters go on a trip all together, apart from the little sister who is pregnant, in search of the new half brother of theirs.
The book travels the reader through many cities of the world, wherever there are Jews to be found, Morocco, Jerusalem, Madrid, New York, Paris and elsewhere. The Benzimra family leaves all over the world. Some are located in Jerusalem, a brother is in Madrid, another is in New York, a sister is in Paris. The family used to live in Morocco, but they emigrated to all those places in fear of what could possible happen to them, being Jews.
The chapters of the book are named after the brother or sister that is actually providing their thoughts and actions about this whole mess. Every chapter is different than the previous one as the story evolves. They don’t repeat the same events, but they carry on from where the previous one stopped. And this is the nice thing about this book, as there is one story told by many people and there is no re-telling!
The basic theme around this book is actually the Jews. One that does not know much about them, can read it and learn a lot. Of course we all know about the Nazis and the holocaust and we all hate it. However, there is a tendency that people accuse Jews for all the bad things in this world. Yes, the Jewish people are scattered around the world, as they didn’t really have a home until the country of Israel was created. However, many have not accepted that. And the Jews hate that there cannot be a year, a month or even a week, without a dead Jew, a murdered one, not one dying of natural causes.
It has been a little difficult to go through the book. It was especially because if you are not surrounded by Jews, you don’t really know their customs and their way of thinking and all. It can be a little tiring. On the other hand, it could be mentioned as a masterpiece by a real Jew or one that understands the Jewish people.
May 29, 2018
Personally, I did not enjoy this book very much. Read why in my review here: https://forums.onlinebookclub.org/vie...
May 14, 2017
This was the first book that I have ever read which dealt with the history and the challenges that Jews have faced over the last two thousand years. The book was quite informative... and painted the picture quite well.
However, I found the style a bit taxing. The fact that the author brought up a number of questions without driving towards some kind of conclusion also felt a bit of an anti climax - and I just ended up with the feeling of having gone through a documentary than the telling of a story.
However, I found the style a bit taxing. The fact that the author brought up a number of questions without driving towards some kind of conclusion also felt a bit of an anti climax - and I just ended up with the feeling of having gone through a documentary than the telling of a story.
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January 8, 2017To start off, I did not finish this book. I am an avid reader and just could not make it through this book. According to my kindle I only read about fifteen percent of the book. It took me four days to get that much done before I just called it a wash. The grab you factor was not there for me. The sad thing is that there is at least two more books in this series. Now let's get into the good or as I should say not so good things about this book. As I said, I did not finish it.
The book is Sunset: Book one of the Nightlord Series, by Garon Whited. I would classify this in a few different genres. Those are alternative world fantasy, scifi fiction, and vampire related material. It just seems like all the other vampire books out there with just a little twist. There isn't enough of a twist to keep me reading. I tried to read it through for online book club so that I could give them a decent review. Since I could not finish it I at least wanted to let you know the reasons as to why.
According to the rating system for the book club, I would give this 1 out of 4 stars. Per other rating systems I would give this 2 out of 5 stars. I thought that it would be a good book based on the reviews I read before I agreed to review it. I was really disappointed to find out it was not that great. I could not give it a higher rating because the wow factor was just not there. The book just drags on and on. It definitely needed to go through the editors a few more times. I was finding errors throughout the short part I read and it gets repetitive. If I would have known the book was in such a poor state I would not have bothered even starting it. When it finally gets to the point you forget what the author was trying to get across and have to reread chunks of the book.
The whole book isn't bad though. I do like the layout of it. It is written as a diary. Instead of chapters it has the date and day of the week. It took me a little while to get into the layout but it is definitely a twist to the normal books I have read.
This book is tailored to a younger audience or really young adults. It involves traveling to other worlds with magic and vampires. You kind of get thrown into a scenario and from what I read it doesn't get any clearer. The plot is hard to follow. In my opinion, the theme falls into love, friendship and revenge. The main characters from the first fifteen percent of the book are Eric, Sasha and his friend Travis.
A quick view of Eric is that he was transformed by Sasha who is centuries old. She teaches him things that he has forgotten. At first he didn't believe in vampires or magic. Sasha was apparently his mistress or lover in his past life. Something happens to her and he has to rely on his magic to try and figure out his problem involving her. They are also being chased by the Church of Light. The whole magic thing is where I lost interested when he was trying to time hop. Even as fiction that never really caught my interest. I also don't understand how his friend Travis doesn't go crazy or report him to a mental place.
The book is Sunset: Book one of the Nightlord Series, by Garon Whited. I would classify this in a few different genres. Those are alternative world fantasy, scifi fiction, and vampire related material. It just seems like all the other vampire books out there with just a little twist. There isn't enough of a twist to keep me reading. I tried to read it through for online book club so that I could give them a decent review. Since I could not finish it I at least wanted to let you know the reasons as to why.
According to the rating system for the book club, I would give this 1 out of 4 stars. Per other rating systems I would give this 2 out of 5 stars. I thought that it would be a good book based on the reviews I read before I agreed to review it. I was really disappointed to find out it was not that great. I could not give it a higher rating because the wow factor was just not there. The book just drags on and on. It definitely needed to go through the editors a few more times. I was finding errors throughout the short part I read and it gets repetitive. If I would have known the book was in such a poor state I would not have bothered even starting it. When it finally gets to the point you forget what the author was trying to get across and have to reread chunks of the book.
The whole book isn't bad though. I do like the layout of it. It is written as a diary. Instead of chapters it has the date and day of the week. It took me a little while to get into the layout but it is definitely a twist to the normal books I have read.
This book is tailored to a younger audience or really young adults. It involves traveling to other worlds with magic and vampires. You kind of get thrown into a scenario and from what I read it doesn't get any clearer. The plot is hard to follow. In my opinion, the theme falls into love, friendship and revenge. The main characters from the first fifteen percent of the book are Eric, Sasha and his friend Travis.
A quick view of Eric is that he was transformed by Sasha who is centuries old. She teaches him things that he has forgotten. At first he didn't believe in vampires or magic. Sasha was apparently his mistress or lover in his past life. Something happens to her and he has to rely on his magic to try and figure out his problem involving her. They are also being chased by the Church of Light. The whole magic thing is where I lost interested when he was trying to time hop. Even as fiction that never really caught my interest. I also don't understand how his friend Travis doesn't go crazy or report him to a mental place.
January 2, 2017
The first chapter of this book tossed me right into the middle of an unfolding family drama. Seated in the office of the lawyer the Benzimra family have just learned the contents of their deceased fathers will and the fact that they must find their half-brother born from a Muslim mother and their Jewish father before they can access their inheritance.
At first this work of fiction confused me. I could not understand why it seemed that the writing was just random thoughts on a page flowing from one scenario to the next. I battled to pick up the storyline until I got halfway through the book. That was when I realized that the storyline WAS the random thoughts of a specific character. In the words of Alberto “I'm above this, and behind everything, I write like Alberto Benzimra, only Alberto Benzimra writes like Alberto Benzimra, and no one understands what he writes.” At this point I stopped, flipped back a few pages and started again and I finally understood the rhythm and flow of the book!
The chapters are titled with the name of a character from the book and each chapter allowed me into the mind and the thought process of that character. I experienced their feelings, their fears and their anguish from being born Jewish and who have left their country by their father’s instruction in search of a better life. Now they must return to a life they once knew, again by their fathers wish, in search of their brother and with their travels all their memories whether good or bad were flooding off the pages of this brilliant book. Although this book only spanned over a couple of weeks, the writing allowed me to learn much about each character and the issues they were facing that these characters seemed to be my childhood friends who have shared their lives with me over a long period.
The book was insightful and it highlighted the ever-present conflict between the various religions and cultures. Although Gates To Tangiers forms part of a trilogy, the book can stand on its own and once I understood the flow and the rhythm of the book it was an easy read. In my opinion, the book ended on a high – almost like there was something deliberately left untold! Maybe a new series with the origins in this trilogy?
If you enjoy fast paced fiction, you will enjoy this book.
At first this work of fiction confused me. I could not understand why it seemed that the writing was just random thoughts on a page flowing from one scenario to the next. I battled to pick up the storyline until I got halfway through the book. That was when I realized that the storyline WAS the random thoughts of a specific character. In the words of Alberto “I'm above this, and behind everything, I write like Alberto Benzimra, only Alberto Benzimra writes like Alberto Benzimra, and no one understands what he writes.” At this point I stopped, flipped back a few pages and started again and I finally understood the rhythm and flow of the book!
The chapters are titled with the name of a character from the book and each chapter allowed me into the mind and the thought process of that character. I experienced their feelings, their fears and their anguish from being born Jewish and who have left their country by their father’s instruction in search of a better life. Now they must return to a life they once knew, again by their fathers wish, in search of their brother and with their travels all their memories whether good or bad were flooding off the pages of this brilliant book. Although this book only spanned over a couple of weeks, the writing allowed me to learn much about each character and the issues they were facing that these characters seemed to be my childhood friends who have shared their lives with me over a long period.
The book was insightful and it highlighted the ever-present conflict between the various religions and cultures. Although Gates To Tangiers forms part of a trilogy, the book can stand on its own and once I understood the flow and the rhythm of the book it was an easy read. In my opinion, the book ended on a high – almost like there was something deliberately left untold! Maybe a new series with the origins in this trilogy?
If you enjoy fast paced fiction, you will enjoy this book.
January 11, 2017
I really enjoyed reading this book, the writing in the book is very formal so it can be daunting but once you get into the swing of the language it's easy to read. There are point of view switches between the characters which some readers don't like, but in my opinion I think it really adds to the characters and depth of the story. I particularly like that there is a point of view for the dead brother, I really like seeing his take and his story in this book as well. He is mentioned often and in high regard which is so special.
There are also wonderful little vignettes between chapters that lighten up the mood of the book and are inspirational and beautiful. This was one of my favorite parts of the whole book. Those little nuggets of beauty between the chapters.
My favorite character was the little sister because she really had the heart of the family in mind. She was so special and so amazing in so many ways and always had very deep and beautiful thoughts about things that were acknowledged by the family.
There was a twist in the story that was TOTALLY unexpected and lends so much to the plot changing that it really had me turning pages after and made it hard to put down. (literally I read the last half of this book in one sitting). It's such a good story and I hope that Mr. Benarroch continues the story because it's riveting and where he left off definitely hints at more.
There are also wonderful little vignettes between chapters that lighten up the mood of the book and are inspirational and beautiful. This was one of my favorite parts of the whole book. Those little nuggets of beauty between the chapters.
My favorite character was the little sister because she really had the heart of the family in mind. She was so special and so amazing in so many ways and always had very deep and beautiful thoughts about things that were acknowledged by the family.
There was a twist in the story that was TOTALLY unexpected and lends so much to the plot changing that it really had me turning pages after and made it hard to put down. (literally I read the last half of this book in one sitting). It's such a good story and I hope that Mr. Benarroch continues the story because it's riveting and where he left off definitely hints at more.
August 8, 2015
En las puertas de Tanger
Discreta novela que trata de 4 hermanos que al fallecer su padre en su testamento deja estipulado que para repartirse la herencia deben encontrar a un hermano fuera del matrimonio y del cual se desconoce su paradero.Para tal efecto recorren diversos países ya que es una encomienda difícil para todos. Durante los viajes cada uno hace un recuento de lo difícil que es vivir en Israel con todos los antecedentes históricos por colindante con los musulmanes.En este aspecto es interesante por los antecedentes históricos de un país que siempre ha sido azotado por atentados musulmanes.
Discreta novela que trata de 4 hermanos que al fallecer su padre en su testamento deja estipulado que para repartirse la herencia deben encontrar a un hermano fuera del matrimonio y del cual se desconoce su paradero.Para tal efecto recorren diversos países ya que es una encomienda difícil para todos. Durante los viajes cada uno hace un recuento de lo difícil que es vivir en Israel con todos los antecedentes históricos por colindante con los musulmanes.En este aspecto es interesante por los antecedentes históricos de un país que siempre ha sido azotado por atentados musulmanes.
April 21, 2018
I had hoped that this book about a Moroccan Jewish community would be full of rich cultural references, but I was very disappointed. The characters were very shallowly drawn and although there was an interesting premise it was not well done. In short I found the book quite boring. I can’t help wondering if this author should use his insight into the Jewish community to write a work of non-fiction rather than fiction, thus avoiding the problem of showing and telling.
March 17, 2017
Short version is I found it to be pretty awful. The characters were indistinguishable, dialogue was laughable and the whole novel felt unfinished. My full review can be found here.
December 10, 2015
Pof favor dejen reseñitas en amazon, sobre todo en amazon España
http://amzn.to/1UffHyr
Gracias
Mois Benarroch
http://amzn.to/1UffHyr
Gracias
Mois Benarroch
August 21, 2018
Because my review was done for The Online Book Club, I can't reproduce it here, but I can provide a link to the content: https://forums.onlinebookclub.org/vie...
January 6, 2019
Road to Tangiers
January 25, 2021
Um tema bem delicado, já que por trás da busca por um irmão ilegítimo vem uma carga histórica e religiosa envolvendo uma família judaica do Marrocos. Sensível e extremamente marcante.
Começou um pouco difícil, truncado, mas rapidinho passou.
Começou um pouco difícil, truncado, mas rapidinho passou.
May 27, 2024
I really wanted to like this book but I couldn't make sense of it. I like books with multiple narratives and timelines but I don't know what was going on here. Also, there seemed to be a lot of typos. Or is it just me? I'm sorry. I had to abandon it.
March 7, 2025
Not for me
October 1, 2025
💯💯💯💯💯
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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