Year of the Elephant: Revised Edition

CMES Modern Middle East Literatures in Translation

by Leila Abouzeid, Barbara McKean Parmenter (Translator), Barbara Harlow (Introduction)

The novella and eight short stories that constitute Year of the Elephant--an allusion to a battle described in the Qur'an--serve as an eloquent representation of life in the wake of Morocco's successful struggle for independence from French occupation. In the titular novella the protagonist, Zahra, has just returned to her hometown after being divorced by her husband for being too traditional and unable to keep up with his modern way of life. Having devoted herself, alongside her husband, to the creation of an independent Morocco, she had expected to share the fruits of independence with him, but instead she finds herself cast out into a strange world. As Zahra struggles to find a place for herself in this new Morocco, her efforts reflect Moroccan society's attempt as a whole to chart a path in the conflict between tradition and modernism.

When published in English in 1989, Year of the Elephant was the first novel by a Moroccan woman to be translated from Arabic into English. In the years since, it has become popular with readers for the unique picture it provides of Moroccan life and North African Islamic culture. This revised edition includes an introduction, which looks at the impact of the English translation since its original publication, and a study guide.

Year of the elephant --
A house in the woods --
A vacation --
The discontented --
Divorce --
The sisters --
An expensive dinner --
The stranger --
Out of work

Genres: Morocco, Fiction, Africa, Feminism, Historical Fiction, Short Stories, Middle East

125 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Leila Abouzeid (Arabic: ليلى أبو زيد) is a Moroccan fiction writer.

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

The independence of Abouzeid's subtitle is both personal and national. A woman moves from marriage through a painful loss of place when her husband tells her their marriage is over and she will receive "whatever the law provides". It is also the chronicle of the Moroccan move toward independence and her part in the resistance. And the seeming disconnect between these two women.


"'Whatever the law provide!'And what is that? Expenses
for a hundred days? that shows the extent of the law's
regard for women. throw them out on the streets with
a hundred days of expenses."


The story is beautifully written, full of details of Moroccan life of the time, life in the country and city, the difficulties of life as a woman alone.


"The golden leaves which bestow the enchantment of
autumn on our region have fallen, and the trees stand
naked under lashes of winter winds and rains. Soon
snow will fall and the trees will assume strange shapes
in the white vastness like works of modern sculpture.


In light of what is happening through the Arab world, I find the following very important:


"In the beginning of the Resistance, we believed the
struggle would wash away all spite and malice, just as
we thought that Independence would relieve our cares
and heal our sores like miracle cures sold in the
market. In fact, we loaded Independence down with a
burden it could not bear...."

The remaining stories are short vignettes of Moroccan life, not as intense as the titled novella, but expressing different parts of life and some seem to have a touch of fable.

A very strong collection and I will look for more from this author.

[Farah · Rating 4 out of 5]

عند انتقاء رواية لأشتريها من المكتبة، لفت اسم الرواية 'عام الفيل' نظري و من ثم ما قيل عنها من الخلف كلن سبباً إضافيا لكي أتطلع لقرائتها فيما بعد.. و لم يخب ظني بعد الفراغ من قرائتها.

القصة تتحدث بلسان الراوية التي ترجع الى بلدتها الأم محملة بحرقة و أسى وعد طليقها بإرسال ورقة طلاقها فتتذكر في بيت طفولتها المتكون من حجرة واحدة الايام التي عاشتها معه و عن كل التضحيات التي قامت بها معه و مع رفقائهما في النضال ضد الاستعمار الفرنسي في المغرب.

أهم ما يمكن ان يختصر من النص الذي كتب بدقة و لغة مبهرة هو المثل الذي يقول 'الفلوس تغير النفوس' او في هذه الحالة، 'السلطة'، حيث ان زهرة تتذكر من كان قد شارك معهم في النضال و قد انتهى بهم الامر ان تولوا مراكز مرموقة و "بدأوا يلبسون الفرو و الحرارة فوق الثلاثين و يدخنون سيجار هافانا و يأكلون بالشوكة" حسب تعبيرها.

أعجبتني و وجدت بين طيّاتها دروس حياة مفيدة خاصة عند زيارات زهرة الى 'شيخ الضريح' الذي كان بمثابة المرشد الروحاني الخاص بها خلال رحلتها للبحث عن ذاتها المفقودة.. و رغم أنني وجدت بعض الصعوبة في النص الذي رغم جمال مفرداته و بساطة الدايالوغ الا انه تخلل بعض الأفكار المتداخلة و لهذا وجدته مكثف بعض الشيء،- و الذي لا يبرهن الا على قدرة ليلى أبو زيد الرائعة في الانتقال من فكرة الا اخرى-، و على بساطتي كقارئة.

[Namrirru · Rating 5 out of 5]

It shows the conflicting visions of colonial independance in Morocco. What the reader comes to find is that women fought in the struggle as much as the men. But after independance, while the men stepped into the power vacuum that the French left behind, the women either didn't benefit at all (besides becoming the wife of a suddenly rich man) or were in a worse position than they were before (such as the lead character in the novel).

[Salma Mohaimeed · Rating 4 out of 5]

" زهرة" تشق طريقها كالنهر يعود إلى مجراه نقيا من كل شائبة .

[L Y N N]

Ah, The Year of the Elephant was very well-written and if you can't feel great sorrow for this woman, you have no heart. The fact that a husband can simply divorce a woman and she will only receive "whatever the law provides." That amount proves to be equal to 100 days' subsistence pay.

Abouzeid describes this woman's resistance activities as well as an overview of her marriage. It proved to be very interesting reading. A culture and society very different from anything I have ever experienced.

A House in the Woods was what I term 'a slice of life' story... Interesting interactions among siblings.

A Vacation was not my kind of story. Rather befuddling...and every character is so cruel to the others! Ugh.

The Discontented described two male cousins, one working as a custodian and one as an official. The official got a completely different job for the custodian, though it was totally out of his experience area and in a completely different location... The official became very angry when the custodian declined his offer.

Divorce finally filed by one brother against his wife, as he and his brother reminisce about their own father's absences, divorces, and wives. Prior to his filing, his wife finally decided to cuss him out in return and stand up for herself and her children against his bullying and abuse! Good for her!

Silence was so bleak. Sisters living together. Evidently one sister's husband divorced her and then married the sister. The divorced/discarded sister is presumably weak and in bad health as her healthier sister simply awaits her death. Finally, the weaker woman simply walks away and then send a note to her sister that "her sister is dead." Ugh.

Dinner in the Black Market was simply a con job by a former schoolmate, as she stole money from their wallets and their cigarettes while eating at her house... Huh. 😯

The Stranger again was a description of such cruelty imposed upon others in intimate relationships! Ugh. Poor guy!

Out of Work describes an out-of-work previously employed person who is now walking throughout his neighborhood/city and truly getting to know it. Rather poignant.

[Hanan Fardan · Rating 1 out of 5]

عام الفيل مجموعة قصصية تتكون من ٩ قصص متنوعة ولكنها جميعا تحكي حال المغاربة من فقر واحياء فقيرة، بالنسبة لي اعتقد بأن الكاتبة أخفقت بعض الشيء حين الانتقال من فكرة لأخرى، بالإضافة لخلو القصص من الحبكة، لكن مفرداتها راقية وحسها الأدبي عال.

[Michael Vicente Perez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this course in an introductory anthropology course and the students seemed to enjoy it. It is very well written (translated, is the more appropriate term). My students didn't have a difficult time with the text even though they did not know much about Moroccan history. Personally, I think the text is excellent. It's sophisticated yet simple and it offers an enjoyable yet gripping story. I will use the text again and am happy to read it one, two, or even three more times.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leila Abouzeid's novella, ‘Ām al-fīl / Year of the Elephant focuses on a pivotal historical moment in Moroccan social memory: the transition from colonial rule to national independence. Her personal experience of this tumultuous period entwines the challenges of post-colonial Morocco with the challenges of post-married life. Prior to national and personal independence, purpose and conviction drove Abouzeid to carry out dangerous missions as a member of the Resistance. When the Resistance finally achieved its aim of Independence, Abouzeid's husband and fellow freedom fighter received an appointment to political office. Abouzeid, in contrast, received notification of divorce and a paltry financial compensation that only served to humiliate her. I understand Abouzeid's narrative as a social commentary from the perspective of all Moroccans who risked their lives for national independence, only to find disappointment following the success of that endeavor. People attributed benevolence, generosity, and wisdom to the Sultan, but Abouzeid finds that poverty and injustic remain even after the Sultan returns to his throne. One key aspect of this injustic in her narrative is her position as a woman dependent on a man who treats her as less than an equal. The institutions support his actions, leaving Abouzeid scarred and disappointed in the behavior of all the authority figures in her life. She finds peace and reassurance by resorting to Diving authority and to the hope in ultimate justice. The poor, wise sheikh of her village and his simple life inspire her to hold to her ideads and ethics. Thus her answer to those disappointed in authorities, especially to women, is to ground themselves in the deepest roots of their identities to find strength, purpose, and inspiration.

[Si Med · Rating 2 out of 5]

تتناول رواية "عام الفيل" للكاتبة المغربية "ليلى أبو زيد" الحياة في المغرب في فترة حاسمة من تاريخه الحديث كما تحكيها زهرة بطلة الرواية بمنظور امرأة في الأربعينات تقليدية وشبه أمية، ولكن ذلك لم يمنعها من المشاركة إلى جانب زوجها في الكفاح الوطني ضد الإستعمار الفرنسي وتحقيق المغرب المستقل.

تبدأ الرواية بطلاق زهرة في العام الأول من الإستقلال بعدما أصبح زوجها عضواً في الحكومة وتسلق السلم الإجتماعي بدون مراحل وبدأ يطل على الشعب الذي حارب الإستعمار بإسمه، من شرفة قصره ويشعر أن مكانته الجديدة لن تكتمل إلا بالتخلص من زوجته "البلدية" التي لا تتكلم الفرنسية ولا تأكل بالشوكة ولا تجلس مع الرجال ولا تستطيع الإندماج في أسلوب حياته البرجوازي الحديث.

في حديثها عن طلاقها تورد زهرة لقطات من طفولتها وزواجها ومشاركتها في المقاومة، تظهر في سياقها تيمات كثيرة منها الصراع بين الأصالة والحداثة، نظرة المجتمع للمرأة، مفهوم الإستقلال على الصعيد الوطني والشخصي، طبيعة التغيير الإجتماعي، ويبرز السؤال: هل التطور إيجابي دائماً وبالنسبة لكل الناس وما مدى دوره في ظهور الفقر الجديد والقضاء على القيم والأخلاق والكفالة.

[Sunny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe this would have had more of an impact on me if I could have read it in its native Arab language. I taught English in Rabat for 2 weeks in the early 2000s which is where a lot of the novel is set but I still found this a little hard to engage with. The story is about a young woman who gains independence juxtaposed against the events of her own country (Morocco) gaining independence at the same time. The match-off of the macro and her personal micro is not an unusual theme. Faulks does it well in Birdsong going from graphic war scenes to graphic love scenes. I can’t think of much else to say about this novel however as it didn’t have all that much of an impact on me.

[Merilee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novella was fairly interesting but I didn't enjoy the stories at all.

[Marieke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I need to reread this. This is a strong three, not wishy-washy three, and might be four if I reread it as a good, attentive reader.

[the grace review ౨ৎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this one for my Postcolonial literature class and I turned out loving it. I really did NOT enjoy the beginning of the novella, but the ending really made me appreciate the writing style and plot development. I didn’t really enjoy any of the characters at all and actually found Zahra quite annoying, but the way the story ended was so beautiful. I enjoyed discussing this one with my classmates and throwing ideas of “the path of healing” in the air.

[Beau SSPress · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the novella was super strong! Very interesting, well written, good pacing. The short stories, I felt, were a bit lackluster and lacked depth. I highly recommend this book for the novella, especially if you're interested in hearing about resistance movements in Morocco leading up to it's independence in 1956, and especially women's roles in that. Other than that...it's kind of a mis...

[Iqra Shagufta Cheema · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novel very aptly and impressively ties the personal and political. We often tend to forget the individual lives amidst the slogans for dazzling revolutions. This books is a reminder of those forgotten lives.

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have not created these stories. I have simply told them as they are. And, Morocco is full of untold stories. Often, I have looked at faces in the streets and said to myself: If they could write, what wonderful stories they could tell.

[em · Rating 3 out of 5]

i had to read this for school so that made it 100% less enjoyable but its fine

[Helynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short novella first published in Arabic in 1983, and in English translation in 1989 (it is more typical for Moroccan literature to be written originally in French), makes two bold statements: 1) the sadness of the unfair treatment of women in Islam, especially those who are divorced (often against their will), and 2) a detailed look at Morocco's road to independence from France. Although Morocco was granted independence in 1956 without the protracted war and bloodshed that Algeria underwent in 1957-62 to shake off French rule, independence for this small Atlantic-Mediterreanean country was still a long and painful process. Leila Abouzeid was born in 1960, a product of independent Morocco, and became a respected journalist and TV anchorwoman in her country. However, she begins her story in 1952 during the Casablanca massacre when hundreds of protesting Moroccans were shot by French police. Her title comes from an important battle in early Islam when foreign tribes riding elephants marched on the sanctuary of Mecca. Barbara Hallow, author of the book's preface, states, " The battle of the Year of the Elephant (in about 570 A.D.) was won by the support of small and unimportant elements: flocks of bird that miraculously appeared and so bombareded the elephants with clay pellets and rocks that the mighty animals were forced to turn back in defeat" (xxv). The political events of 1956 form a backdrop to the story of Zahra, who has just been divorced by her husband of 40 years for being too traditional and out of step with modern life. "I don't eat with a fork. I don't speak French. I don't sit with men. I don't go out to fancy dinners" (10). Once, rich and pampered by her husband, Zahra describes how he announced to her their divorce. "He had simply sat down and said, 'Your papers will be sent to you along with whatever the law provides.' My papers? How worthless a woman is if she can be returned with a paper receipt like some store-bought object! How utterly worthless!" (1) She continues, "For our people, divorce is a catastrophe, an absolute disaster. Any objection [a wife] might raise is shattered with one decisive blow. There is nothing more to add" (8). Fortunately, Zahra does have some property--a small room in her native town that was left to her by her father. This is where she makes her new, lonely home, as she looks backward on the events of and her role in Moroccan independence. She refuses to live with her married sister and be supported by her brother-in-law, thus angering and alienating her only family members. Zarha gets a job and resigns herself to her fate--poverty and loneliness. The short stories that follow in this volume are not much more upbeat, and most deal with the plight of the divorced woman and the cultural concept of how quickly and whimsically a husband may decide to divorce his wife--with immediate and sorrowful results for her.

[Georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leila brings me to the Atlas Mountains again. We drink tea and sit among its savvy people talking like old friends. She has walked these streets, knowing each cobblestone since she was a child, she has been worn down by the warm summers without end and I am the traveler that sees only the beauty of the evening sky that licks the clouds with fire. I hear the call to prayer and know that I will always remember the sweetness of those nights in El Ksiba where brilliant men smoke cigarettes in cafes and beautiful dark haired children roam the streets together laughing into the night sky before their mothers call them home. Leila cleans the window for me and forces me to look into the past, her people sacrificing themselves for these same dark haired children. Why so many young lives I wonder? Why so many willing to die for a small taste of freedom? I can only cry at these visions and thank her for the stories that lead me to this place in Morocco that claimed my heart, that claimed my imagination and gave me a home that I will never part from.

[ابْتِسَام · Rating 5 out of 5]

"عام الفيل"  للكاتبة المغربية ليلى أبو زيد : رواية تحكي مأساة المرأة التي ينقلب عليها زوجها عندما يتحسن وضعه(وهي الموضوع الرئيسي للقصة)، في ظل اضطراب الأوضاع التي عرفها المغرب أواخر الخمسينات  (اي بين فترة قبل وبعد استقلال المغرب من قبضة  الإستعمار الفرنسي). تأخذنا الرواية في رحلة بين أزقة و دروب المدن المغربية العتيقة،  واصفة لنا أشكال المقاومة المغربية آنذاك خاصة في صفوف النساء المغربيات ضد المستعمر الأجنبي. 
أعجبتني الرواية عموما و تعجبت حقا من  روح المواطنة التي كانت تكنها المغربيات للدفاع عن وطنهم،  واصفة بعض التفاصيل التي لازلت تتموج في  مجتمعنا المغربي.  ومن بين المقتطفات التي أثارت انتبهي في الرواية : " علمت أن معنويات الإنسان كمبادئه، أكثر شيء عرضة للتلف."

[لطيفة القارئة]

ما كتب في نهاية الكتاب أزعجني وأعادني لترك تعليق
مع أني قاومت ذلك في البداية وتجنبت بقدر الإمكان الإحتفاظ برأيئ لنفسي..
لكن هذا النفاق العجيب عن كون الرواية واعتبارها أصلاً رواية ..تحفة فهو شئ غريب
فمنذ البداية صدني الاسلوب الجاف
الذي لم يتمكن من التصالح معي،ولم يؤثر في ..ولم يتم إعطاء المواضيع التي تمت محاولة التطرق إليها
بشكل معمق ولا بشكل كاف..سواء بالنسبة لموضوع التخلص من الزوجة البدوية الأولى..عند الغنى والترقية.
ولا بالنسبة للقفز من الاستعمار الى الاستقلال..لقد تم قول تلك الأمور بسرعة وبشكل جاف.

لم تعجبني وانتهى
بحيث ندمت على محاولة قراءة شئ مغربي.
لقد كانت تلك نيتي

[Billie Rain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zahra's story functions simultaneously to break stereotypes of Arab women and to uplift and challenge readers to be our best selves.

[Ikram]

im very very excited for this one

[Samya · Rating 2 out of 5]

كأن تبدأ جملة ولا تنهيها.. كأن تطرح سؤالا ويأتيك نصف جواب.. كأن تقول الكثير ولا تعني شيئا.. كانت هكذا هذه الرواية، وإن كنت متحفظة عن نعتها برواية، الحبكة غير محكمة، الأفكار ضائعة والنهاية محبطة. كان لدي توقعات وآمال جميلة حيالها، لكن ضُربت جميعها عرض الحائط. الكاتبة تحكي عن النضال ضد المستعمر الفرنسي في المغرب ولكن لا تتعمق البتة في طرحها، تقف في المنتصف ولا تمضي بفكرتها إلى الآخر. أمّا عن اللغة فأجدها غير جيدة بكل حيادية، وكم قرأت لكُتّاب تُصنف روايتهم من الروايات الاستهلاكية الجالبة للدرهم والدينار ولهم أسلوب ورصيد لغوي رائع.
لكن ورغم كل ما سبق ذكره، أثار انتباهي فكرة تحدثت عنها وهي أن المبادئ أكثر شيء عرضة للتلف. لكي أضعكم في الصورة، كانت الراوية وزوجها مناضلين، يرفضون كل فعل مستهجن أتى به المستعمر، يدخرون المال للحركات النضالية ويهربون السلاح من مدينة لأخرى. إلا أنه عندما أتى الاستقلال الذي طال انتظاره، غيّر زوجها لونه، خانها مع مساعدته، صفعها أثناء نقاش بينهما وطلب منها الطلاق، ناهيك عن أنه خان مبادئه أيضا وبعد أن كان مناضلا أضحى ممن "لعب الاستقلال برؤسهم"، من انتهازي الاستق��ال. وأقتبس من الرواية ما قالته عند الصفعة: "وصرخت بكل قوة كأنني أخاطب جمهورا وهميا: هؤلاء من ننتظر الاصلاح من ورائهم. أنتم أشد خطرا من الاستعمار".
وبه، يتجلى معدن المرء الحقيقي عندما لا تجعله هذه المبادئ والأفكار النضالية 'إنسانا' أفضل وعندما تتعارض مبادئه مع مصالحه، هل سيصمد أم سيرمي بكل مبادئه عِرض الحائط. لا أعلم لماذا كنت بشكل بديهي أستثني من هذا الاستنتاج المناضلين السياسيين، المناضلين من أجل الحرية والحقوق والعدالة. والأحرى أنهم أولى بهذه القاعدة!
كل ما تردده من تعابير رنانة وهتافات مغرية حول قضايا نبيلة ربما أشرف وأنبل منك في منابر وهمية تشفي بها غليلك المنافق، لا تعني فعليا شيئا ولا يؤتمن لها، أولا، إن كانت تتضارب مع من تكونه وما تقوم به في الخفاء وفي حياتك اليومية، وثانيا، إن لم تُمتحن بَعد في مواقف حقيقية تختار فيها مبادئك بدل مصالحك.
ومنه، رغم أن الكتاب نوعا ما خيّب أملي إلّا أنني ممتنة فعلا لأنه وَجَدَني ـ نعم، أؤمن أنه في أحيان كثيرة الكتب هي من تجدنا وليس العكس ـ وجعلني أراجع أفكارا ربما بديهية لكن كانت عندي من المسلمات!
شيء أخير، يجدر التنويه أن الكاتبة، ليلى أبو زيد، ابنة مدينة القصيبة نواحي بني ملال، تم اعتقال والدها وتعذيبه من قبل السلطات الفرنسية وهي طفلة، وبه كانت لها نزعة نضالية تجلّت من خلال عملها كإعلامية وفي كتبها أيضا. "عام الفيل" تجربتها الأولى في الكتابة، فلربما كتبها الأخرى أحسن وأنضج.

[Susan Oleksiw · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the tightly constructed novel of the title, Zahra returns to her home village after a sudden divorce. This is 1950s Morocco just after Independence. Her husband informs her she will receive whatever the law allows, which is 100 days of support. After the years of fighting shoulder to shoulder with her husband and others for independence from France, the woman is stunned and angry, feeling betrayed and lost. Childless, she can return to live with a sibling but chooses instead to live in the room of the family estate she inherited from her father. The various rooms inherited by relatives have turned the old estate into an apartment building, but at least she has a place to live. A holy man in the local mosque listens and advises her as she recalls her years in the resistance, her many visits home bedecked in jewels and fine clothing, and her plans for a new life once the colonial power was driven from the land. She is unprepared for life as a divorced woman—no money, no skills, no family connections. A few friends attempt to aid her but there is little they can do and she wants her own life of dignity and position. She navigates this new world, assessing the changes in her old collaborators as well as her husband, but in the end she makes peace with the new nation of Morocco and her new self, and grows well beyond the woman her husband divorced.

The eight short stories are glimpses of life in Morocco as it struggles to transform itself from a traditional culture ruled as a French colony into a modern nation on the world stage. In most cases they read more like scenarios than fully developed stories.

This is the first novel by a Moroccan woman written in Arabic and translated into English. As such it marks two important trends—the growing use of Arabic instead of French or English in literature and the rise of educated women in public and literary life.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leila Abouzeid writes in Arabic. In the 1980’s, the first novel from Morocco by a woman to be translated from Arabic to English. This is significant, because most writing at the time was in French-then translated to English. when Morocco was a French colonial protectorate, ending in 1956 French what is the language of Commerce, power and education. Arabic was confined to the home.

Abouzeid masterfully tells the story of Zahara, whose husband has “discarded” her. She is, then,”worthless”. She is now divorced, illiterate, and without economic resources. She owns only one room in her parents’ home, which she received as her inheritance from them.

Morocco endured 40 years as a French colonial protectorate, which ended in 1956. During this time, the Arabic Language was suppressed. French became the language of commerce, of power, and of education. Women stayed home where Classical Arabic was used, depriving them of the power and influence accorded to French speakers. Few girls were instructed in French schools. After the revolution, movement to Arabic in education and the marketplace was a huge undertaking. Like learning a foreign language. Teachers had been taught in French schools—how were they to teach Arabic?

Published by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of Texas at Austin, 1989

[Moushine Zahr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first novel I've read from Moroccan author Leila Abouzeid. I read the French edition of the book. The author captivated immediately the audience by presenting the leading character and narrator returning back to her home village with the bad news from her husband. The story stars with almost the end of the story, then returns to the beginning like they do it often in movies.

The leading character is well developped as the author presents her from childhood until now in her 40's and her attitudes toward life and obstacles throughout her life. In this novel, the author presents an aspect of road to Independence of Morocco unknown or untold to Moroccans today: the direct participation of Moroccan women in the Resistance to fight for Independence. While the leading character had always been at the side of her family, of her husband, and of her country, when the country got its Independence, her fate changed for the worst unlike many others.

It's a great novel to read about women's involvement in the journey to Independence, which shows also how the life of a woman can change abruptely in either way without warning or assistance.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Year of the Elephant” was the first book by a Moroccan female author to be translated into English and gave readers a glimpse of how difficult it is to be a woman in an Islamic society.

The book tells us the story of Zahra, a traditional Moroccan woman who, despite her poor education, fights beside her husband for the end of the French occupation, only to be replaced by a more “modern” wife when Morocco becomes a free country.

Leila Abouzeid was bold to present the hard trials of a divorced woman, an outcast in her community, who struggles to make a new life for herself. I can’t say Zahra is a feminist character in the modern definition, but she does try to move on, although there are limited options for her.

The book is a great History lesson of Morocco’s path towards Independence and enhances the role of women during the process. A pity they were so easily forgotten…

[Salma · Rating 5 out of 5]

الكفاح الوطني النسوي، تغير المبادىء، وانقلاب المصالح... أبوزيد تصور واقع الانتقال من الكفاح إلى الاستقلال وما بين طيات هذه الفترة التاريخية العصيبة والمهمة من تاريخ المغرب. أبوزيد من بين أهم الكتاب المغاربة الذين أعلوا من شأن الكلمة وردوا الاعتبار للغة العربية، مخاطبين بذلك الجمهور العربي الغفير الذي يهمه ما هو مكتوب بين طيات هذه الكتب... النساء وتاريخ نضالهن المتواصل يشعل في أنفسنا شرارة المواصلة والعمل على تحقيق مغرب الغد الذي حارب هؤلاء النساء من أجله... زهرة واحدة من بين مئات النساء اللاتي أدركن أهمية النضال من أجل الوطن، حاربن، وتأملن تغير الأحوال إلى الأفضل، ليجدن بعد ذلك أن جرثومة المستعمر قد أنهكت البلد والعباد، وأن كل شعارات الوطنية انقلبت على أصحابها الذين أصبحوا أسرى لمصالحهم الشخصية.. رواية جديرة بالقراءة !

[Sara Boulhaoua · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main character, Zahra, proved that Moroccan women contributed to Morocco’s independence as much as men did, yet they didn’t receive its fruits as they were expecting.
Zahra was divorced by her husband, who now became a man of power in the post-independent state, immediately after Morocco was freed the French occupation. The reason why he deserted her is being unsophisticated « I don’t eat with a fork, I don’t speak French and I don’t sit with men »
This explains that independence was not good for women as much as it was for men, it was the beginning of misery for some, like the case in Year of the Elephant.
I didn’t enjoy it very much, but it’s definitely worth reading.