The Elusive Fox

Set in the 1960s, Zafzaf's short, rambling novel follows a Casablancan teacher, Ali, as he explores the hashish-filled societies of several coastal Moroccan cities. He befriends the tomboyish Fatima, who shows him around Essaouira, before he wanders off on a series of small episodic adventures. Viewing himself at the novel's titular "fox," Ali visits a nude beach, parties with hippies, sleeps with various women, and looks at those around him as flocks of sheep, all the while telling acquaintances that through disappearing into new cultures, one can discover different worlds. Ali's exploits are those of a typical male fantasy. Laziness abounds, drugs are easy to come by, and women are portrayed as objects bowing to the verbal demands of men. Those men have a penchant for anger, betraying their constructed "love-in" atmosphere. Ali's homophobia, displayed near the novel's end, is certainly in tune with the time, but it challenges his own counterculture persona; these moments paint the protagonist as less of a fox and more of an imposter. (Sept.)