As Rich As The King: A Tale of Casablanca
by Abigail Assor
Translated by Natasha Lehrer
Originally published in 2021 as Aussi Riche
que le Roi, Abigail Assor’s debut novel earned her the Francois Sagan
Prize, and a place on the shortlist of the Prix Goncourt. It has now been published
in an English translation by Natasha Lehrer: “As Rich As The King: A Tale of
Casablanca”. As its subtitle suggests, the story is set in the Moroccan city.
We’re in the 1990s, and the rich elite of the town spend their time lounging
about in their luxurious residences. Teenager Sarah, who lives with her mother
in the shanty town, is poor and an outsider in these circles. However, her
French extraction and sultry beauty make her, nonetheless, an attractive figure.
She worms her way into the circles of the rich, intent on winning over the love
of Driss, who comes from a successful business family, and who is “as rich as
the king”. Sarah and Driss make for a
strange couple – Sarah an assertive extrovert, Driss a rather weak and brooding
young man. Unsurprisingly, this young romance is soon under assault,
particularly by the family of Driss.
This novel has been described (by Leïla Slimani, no less!) as vibrant and sensual. It is, indeed, vibrant and it describes Morocco vividly. But it is also a very sad story, in which it is difficult to distinguish between real love and opportunism. I found it immensely difficult to warm to Sarah and her schemes to captivate Driss, until I realised (or, rather, the novel made me understand) that Sarah is simply a victim of institutionalised classism and of the utter chasm between rich and poor. Seen in this light, her none-too-subtle attempts at social climbing are neither pathetic nor devious, but simply an attempt at escape and survival. The novel may well be “sensual” but it is, ultimately, a realist tragedy: Flaubert for contemporary times.
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