Set in the northwest of Morocco, a setting familiar to the American reader in the works of Paul Bowles, THE LAND OF CANNABIS not only reveals the secrets of the illegal trade, but also the historical and religious background of the area. It takes advantage of such a delicate theme, to depict a sensational portrait of the emotional and social changes that occur in the Jebala region.
Mohammed, a university graduate, is a victim of nepotism who will be obliged to go to Sumatha, his father’s homeland, to grow cannabis in order to earn a living. In this very strange context, the protagonist will suddenly find himself in direct confrontation with Ben Aisha, the most powerful cannabis tycoon in the area. The experience will drive
him through a new world where hatred and greed are dominant. Mohammed will face a series of problems and difficulties which will make him grow conscious of the graveness of his acts. When his life and the life of his family are in danger, he decides to actuate rapidly so as to free his father from his abductors.
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Mohammed woke up from his deep sleep due to a strange noise in the outside. He jumped out of bed, scared and giddy, and lit up the smoke-blackened lamp. He looked quickly at the watch; it was 2 am. He stepped towards the door of the room and stood still behind it, trying to hear what was exactly happening in the outside. He heard a voice coming from the courtyard, and then he heard a conversation of at least two men talking to each other. What he heard was that they were in distress because they had gone astray. The dogs, which were barking vehemently and relentlessly, made him unable to understand what the men were saying. Suddenly, the men stopped talking to each other, and were asking his grandmother for the house owner. He pulled the door open and got out. The lamp dangled in his hand as he walked. His grandmother was standing in the threshold of the small room.
‘Who is there?’ he asked, cautiously.
One of the men responded him, but Mohammed could not hear what he had said because of the high barking of dogs. He walked down to the courtyard and hushed the dogs first, and then he stepped towards the men and lifted the lamp up to the face of one of them. The stranger’s face was grim and expressionless. The two men bore the rifles on their shoulders, threateningly. The heart of Mohammed raced, but he succeeded in hiding his fear. He looked at the man defiantly.
‘What are you doing in my house?’ asked Mohammed.
The man smiled widely, and then he cleared his throat as if he were looking for the adequate words to start his conversation with him.
'Well, I beg your pardon for our boldness to have entered your house without your permission, but it's the will of Allah. We are in a serious dilemma and we want your help', said the man, hesitatingly.
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Portuguese
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Already translated.
Translated by Mario Espitia
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Author review: very accurate and professional |
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Spanish
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Translation in progress.
Translated by Richard Común
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