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father decides to take his wife and son to the souk to buy jewelry bracelets. Fatma
Bziouya accompanies the family. When they arrive at the jeweler’s souk, the father’s face is bloody from a fight with a broker. Superstitious, Lalla Zoubida refuses the bracelets, thinking they are cursed. Mother Lalla Aicha recounts the misadventures at the souk. Sidi Mohamed falls ill.
213:(school), the narrator finds his mother unwell. Lalla Aicha, her friend, visits and convinces her to see Sidi Boughaleb. During the visit, Sidi Mohamed gets scratched by a cat. Tired, the child doesn’t go to m'sid the next day and instead describes the morning routine at home, the origins of his parents, and his memories of the unpleasant Driss, his father’s apprentice.
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During preparations for Ashura at m'sid, the Fqih organizes the work and forms teams. Young Sidi
Mohamed is appointed head of the brushes. The next morning, he accompanies his mother to the kissaria to buy a new jacket. Back home, Sidi Mohamed argues with Zineb. His mother gets angry. Sad and hungry,
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The narrator recounts his day at m'sid. In the evening, when noticing that Fatima
Bziouiya uses an oil lamp, Lalla Zoubida insists that her husband buy one the next day. He then narrates the disappearance of Zineb and how his mother found her at the Idrissides' home. As a gesture of gratitude to God,
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The narrator (now an adult) tells of his childhood. At the start of the novel he describes how as a young boy he was plagued by loneliness and spent much of his time in solitude. He then presents the tenants of Dar
Chouafa: Lalla Kenza the seer (ground floor), Driss El Aouad, his wife Rahma and their
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tradition of an autobiographical style, written in the first person. It explores, through an adult's memories of commonplace events in his childhood, his perception and emotional relationship with his parents. Surrounded by the love, passion and drama of life, in quiet times the boy can always return
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On Ashura, the child wakes up early, puts on his new clothes, and goes to m'sid to celebrate the special day. After the meal, Lalla Aicha visits the narrator's family. After Ashura, life returns to its routine. But with the first warm days, the mother declares war on bedbugs. One day, the narrator's
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At the beginning of spring, Lalla
Msirina and her son visit Lalla Aicha. Sidi Mohamed takes the opportunity to play with the neighbor’s children. Lalla Aicha tells her friend about her husband’s misfortunes with his partner Abdelkader. The next day, the mother retells the story to her husband, which
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In the last chapter, the narrator recounts his father’s return. Sidi
Mohamed tells his father about the events that occurred during his absence. The narrator's father learns that M. Larbi broke up with his young wife. Sidi Mohamed, still an introverted dreamer, takes out his box and wonders, lulled
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On a
Wednesday, the Fqih explains his plans for Ashura to his students. At home, Lalla Zoubida tirelessly recounts Lalla Aicha’s misfortunes to Fatima and Rahma, making them promise to keep it secret. The narrator then recalls the death of Sidi Tahar Ben Billion, a scene he witnessed that gave him
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The father loses all his capital. He decides to sell the bracelets and go to work around Fez. Sidi
Mohamed is still suffering from fever. The father’s departure is seen as a great tragedy. One day, the mother visits her friend Lalla Aicha, who suggests consulting a soothsayer, Si el Arafi. The
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daughter Zineb (first floor), and fatma
Bziouya the second floor). He evokes memories of the Moorish Bath and his "box of wonders" where he keeps special objects that he finds, which give him comfort. Then he recalls a dispute between his mother and Rahma.
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On the eve of Ashura, the women buy drums and a trumpet for Sidi
Mohamed. He participates in the m'sid preparations for the feast. The next day, he accompanies his father to the barber, where he listens without much interest to adult conversations.
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The novel has been used as a vehicle for teaching French to students of Maghrebian origin, since they can more easily relate to the experiences of the author than they would to books written by and about French people.
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narrator recalls seeing Si el Arafi. Lalla Zoubida returns home, keeping the visit a secret, and decides to keep her child at home, taking him to visit a marabout each week.
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At Lalla Aicha’s, the women talk. Salama visits and recounts her role in the marriage of Larbi’s daughter, the hairdresser, and the problems of the new couple.
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the child escapes into his dreams. The narrator then shares the story of Lalla Khadija and her husband’s uncle Othman, as told by Rhima to the neighbors.
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One morning, she is visited by a messenger from her husband. Lalla Aicha asks her friend to visit the next day because she has something to tell her.
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to his secret box of marvels. The novel has been recognized by critics as exceptional in style and content. It has been described as a classic work.
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Driss El Aouad, plow maker, husband of Rahma, and father of their young daughter, Zineb (7 years old). The family occupies the first floor of
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Extracts from the book have been used for the first year Baccalauréat examinations by the French and Moroccan ministries of Education.
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449:. Université Paris-Nord, Centre de recherches en psychopathologie et Centre d'études littéraires francophones et comparées.
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Fatma Bziouya and her husband Allal, a gardener, are neighbors of Sidi Mohamed's family on the second floor of Dar Chouafa.
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Sidi Mohamed, the narrator, a young boy (6 years old) who lives with his parents on the second floor of
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prompts young Sidi Mohamed to remember the grocer Abdellah who would tell him stories.
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Rahma prepares a meal for beggars, and all the neighbors join in with goodwill.
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It was long thought to be the first mainstream Moroccan novel written in the
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La francophonie arabe: pour une approche de la littérature arabe francophone
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of Tangier, published in France in 1932 under the pseudonym Benazous Chatt
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within the context of North African Francophone literature of the century.
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Formation des enseignants et ouverture sur le monde: Approches comparées
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Maalam Abdeslam, father of Sidi Mohammed, a weaver by trade.
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In fact the first Moroccan novel written in French was
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Alami, Abdallah Ouali; Martini-Valat, Colette (2005).
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473:La littérature maghrébine et littérature mondiale
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416:Benchama, Lahcen; Groux, Dominique (June 2011).
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503:. Nouvelles Editions Latines. p. 236.
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476:. Königshausen & Neumann. p. 70.
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443:Bonn, Charles; Baumstimler, Yves (1991).
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500:Fès: joyau de la civilisation islamique
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526:"1ère année du cycle de Baccalauréat"
470:Bonn, Charles; Rothe, Arnold (1995).
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112:by Moroccan writer Ahmed Sefrioui.
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313:Bonn & Baumstimler 1991
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497:Gaudio, Attilio (1982).
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557:"La boite à merveilles"
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592:French-language novels
55:Autobiographical novel
20:La Boîte à merveilles
16:Book by Ahmed Sefrioui
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131:The book follows the
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571:Categories
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516:2013-05-07
489:2013-05-07
462:2013-05-07
435:2013-05-07
408:2013-05-07
255:References
116:Background
373:Omar 2012
60:Publisher
44:Language
170:Chouafa
133:Maghreb
82:Morocco
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560:(PDF)
211:m'sid
160:Lalla
110:novel
88:Pages
52:Genre
505:ISBN
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201:Plot
194:Fqih
192:The
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277:BNF
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