A Life Full of Holes

“Charhadi has written the first novel ever produced in Moghrebi. The work is not only unprecedented, it is also very good, and much of it is marvellous.” —Alfred Chester, Book Week

One of the most unusual literary innovations ever produced, A Life Full of Holes is the result of a singular collaboration between two remarkable individuals: Driss ben Hamed Charhadi, an illiterate North African servant and street vendor, and legendary American novelist and essayist Paul Bowles. The powerful story of a shepherd and petty trafficker struggling to maintain hope as he wrestles with the grim realities of daily life, it is the first novel ever written in the Arabic dialect Moghrebi, faithfully recorded and translated into English by Bowles. Straightforward yet rich in complex emotions, it is a fascinating inside look at an unfamiliar culture—harsh and startling, yet interwoven with a poignant, poetic beauty.

“A fascinating portrait of corruption.” —The New York Times

“The good story-teller keeps the thread of his narrative almost equally taut at all points. This Charhadi accomplished apparently without effort. He never hesitated; he never varied the intensity of his eloquence . . . Nothing needed to be added, deleted, or altered.” —Paul Bowles, author of The Sheltering Sky

“A powerful and slightly horrifying portrayal of life for the poorest of the poor in colonial Morocco in the 1960s, it’s also a brilliant example of how it’s possible to recreate the magic and immediacy of oral story-telling in writing.” —Richard Marcus, Blogcritics