3 out of 4 stars
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Gates to Tangier by Mois Benarroch tells of siblings; Fortu, Isaque, Silvia, Alberto, and Ruth that just lost their father. Their father's will states that in order to receive their inheritance they must do everything they can to find a step-brother no one knew about.
The chapters of this book jump from one sibling to the next. We are given points of view from most of the siblings except Ruth as she stays behind being that she is eight months pregnant. There is Alberto, the writer, who lives in Jerusalem. Isaque is a homeopathic doctor in New York. Fortu is a medical doctor in Madrid. Sylvia is married with children and lives in Paris. They all come together to travel to Morocco to find their half-brother.
My favorite character was Alberto. He was a bit more philosophical and seems to be a character based upon the author as Alberto it talking about writing a book much like the one that was written. I liked all the characters and thought they developed well, especially Zhora, who appears later in the book. All of the characters seemed to be on this journey to discover something for themselves.
This book isn't just about the siblings and their journey it also gives us a deeper look at what it is to be a Jew in the world today. The characters explain what it is like to be a Jew in the dispora. We are shown the conflicts between the Ashenazim and Shephardi Jews in Israel. Also it is a book of discovering yourself and your past.
The plot was well written and everything comes together at the end of the book. I think the plot is enhanced as this book moves along. I thought that most of the questions the reader would have were answered sufficiently.
I liked this book but found it hard to follow at first and not altogether cohesive. Once I got farther along this cleared itself up. There were a few typos, I found, but this could be because it was translated from Hebrew. There are a few words that were transliterated and if you are not familiar with the language or religion you may need a glossary.
I think this would be a good book for anyone interested in the tensions between the shephardi and ashenazim as well as that of Jews and Muslims. This is also a good book if you like ones about families coming together.
I would give this book is 3 out of 4 stars. I wouldn't give it 4 stars as I didn't fall in love with it and there were a few typos. However, I liked learning about the Shephardic Jews and found the storyline intriguing.
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Gates to Tangier
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