The Last Storytellers: Tales from the Heart of Morocco

`The Last Storytellers' is a book that puts into print stories from the Moroccan tradition of oral storytelling which goes back almost a thousand years and is now in danger of becoming extinct. Assisted by his guide, Ahmed Tija, Richard Hamilton, the BBC's Moroccan correspondent, sought out in Marrakech five authentic storytellers. Typically they are men who followed what they saw as their fate despite the disapproval of orthodox Islam and opposition from their families, who regarded storytelling as little better than begging. The last storytellers may be aged, poor and frail, but their stories are rich in detail and full of vitality. In his excellent introduction Richard Hamilton tells of some of their accomplishments. One learned most of the Old Testament and all of `One Thousand and One Nights'. Another studies classical Arabic texts at night and recites them next day in Darija, the dialect his listeners can understand. The youngest, who was born into an extremely poor family and had to leave school so that he could help his father at work, is exceptionally well read and can introduce material from Cervantes or Jorge Luis Borges into his tales. The oldest, going deaf and already blind, remembers when, during the time of the French Protectorate, storytellers, speaking in the Berber language, used stories to pass messages to one another in code. Since the men who tell them are no strangers to poverty and oppression, it is not surprising that these thirty-seven stories show sympathy with the underdog and a subversive glee when he succeeds where others have failed. Sons of black slaves inherit a kingdom and marry a Sultan's daughter; respected magistrates turn out to be crooks; barbers are promoted to the rank of Vizier; and a Sultan sacks all his sycophantic viziers because none will tell him the truth. This is a very entertaining collection and a book I intend to keep. To write this review I read the stories more quickly than I would have liked; but I hope to return and read them at a more leisurely pace. All good stories have depths which do not reveal themselves immediately, and these are no exception. Richard Hamilton has done us all a service in recording what he describes as `a priceless treasure, as precious as mankind's greatest artefact or the planet's most endangered species, and of immeasurable importance to humanity.'

Bought this for a birthday present for a friend who is going to Morocco on holiday, she is very pleased with it.

This book is beautifully researched and puts into print stories that are in danger of being lost. The long introduction does a great job of bringing the storytellers and their way of life to our attention and then the stories are recounted and authorship acknowledged. A respectful work that has had the significant bonus of gaining recognition in Morocco and elsewhere for a valuable and imperilled part of Morocco's cultural heritage.

Fascinating stories, now preserved for all time.

Bought as a present so haven't read it looks very interesting

An easy to read book which will not win any awards but is enjoyable none the less. For anyone who has spent time in that part of the world, it is a must read

The tales told for a thousand years in Marrakesh are being lost to television, cinema and social media. Mr Hamilton, the BBC corespondant for Morocco, collected stories from the last remaining tellers in this wonderful book.

Impeccably researched and thoughtfully put-together, this charming book enfolds readers into Morocco's story-telling culture and spellbinding past. I read it to my eldest daughter, who is now reading it to her little sister in turn. Perhaps Richard Hamilton has kept the oral tradition alive, after all...

The 'most Moroccan book' in English language you can find today. Hamilton has compiled what might truly be last of the ancient oral tradition in Morocco. The stories in this book have been around for centuries and have been passed from generation to generation. The myth, the magic, the atmosphere transport the reader to the very heart of Marrakesh. You can smell it, you can hear it. I have read quite a bit about Morocco, I have visited the country and I am familiar with the culture and the tradition, however no title out there can compete in accuracy, quality and magic with The Last Storytellers. Without a doubt this is the essential read about Marrakesh. Enjoy it.

With the advent of technology, glad these oral stories, which have been told for millennia, are recorded for their historical and entertaining value.

I enjoyed reading this book very much. It was like being back in Morocco again and experiencing the strange way of life that makes this country such a fascinating and wonderful place to visit. I decided to plan another trip back to the land of the Atlas mountains and partake of that sweet contrast between the cities, the palmeries and the desert that I've never found in any of my travels. The author has expressed a great love for this country in his introduction if only in the determination he felt necessary to put this priceless set of stories together in order to preserve them for future generations of Moroccans as well as anyone interested in learning the rich cultural heritage offered to the world by the shoulder of Africa.

This collection features five storytellers found in the Jemaa el Fna of Marrakech. The site is the square of the city, historically a crossroads market place and entertainment venue for street performance of which storytellers are one attraction. The Foreword and Introduction provide a history of the site and its changing character, especially over the last 70 to 80 years. It provides a brief but entertaining history of storytelling before introducing the storytellers providing the stories. How the stories got into this text form was a process which has been used with varying success for collecting tales and music from folk and oral performers in many areas. A recording was made as the teller spoke with an interpreter making a simultaneous translation. A transcript was them made of the translated portion and the “edited.” This seems to make the reader three generations away from the teller. The reader has to trust that the person in each phase is both trustworthy and competent to do justice to the tales. On the positive side, the process seems to have worked as intended here and this method eliminated the need for a glossary and extensive footnotes. The stories were collected between 2006 and 2009. Five tellers are presented in the collection with the stories spread to emphasize the story rather than as blocks by a teller. Two of the tellers died prior to the bool publication. The stories are set in the “long years ago” of stories with exact times and place unneeded to understand meaning or morals of them. The reader can easily wish for the tales to be longer, but then one realizes that the story is as long as it needs to be to present its message. It should be obvious I enjoyed the book in its method and stories told. While saddened that some of the tellers have passed, the impact of the lost od storytellers is one of the main messages of the book. The size of the book is comfortable, the type style is eye friendly. It has all the characteristics of a book to be enjoyed again – but a warning – if you loan it out, you won’t get it back! Did I have a favorite story? Well, yes, 39 of them!

A fascinating look into a world of live-action story telling. Richard, the author, has extensive experience in Morocco and tracked down the last members of a dying profession, storytellers who entertained their customers in the market squares of Marrakesh. These stories remind me greatly of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson, but set in the Muslim culture of Morocco. Some of the tales are very similar to their European counterparts and have obviously travelled the trade routes of the Mediterranean for many centuries. I liked best the lead story, 'The Red Lantern,' an extended parable on what is truly valuable. Every merchant and buyer should read it! Other tales reminded me that every culture has convenient scapegoats who can be toted out for shame and abuse. In the Grimm brother's tales, a witch is always so evil that she can be killed without mercy. In Marrakesh, Christians and especially Jews were the butt of ridicule and stern justice by wise Imams and Sultans. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. Well worth reading for anyone interested in Morocco and Muslim culture.