What Is Seattle Reading?
The Washington Center for the Book is delighted to feature:
Secret Son, a novel by author Laila Lalami (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2009).
Moroccan-born Laila Lalami will spend May 6-10 with The Seattle Public Library and Seattle Arts & Lectures for the 2010 Seattle Reads series.
Schedule of events with Laila Lalami.
Seattle book groups already registered with the Library to borrow kits may schedule "Secret Son" by going to Book Group Kits.
Other Seattle book groups may request "Secret Son" by sending e-mail to bookgroups@spl.org or calling the Library's book group message line, 206-615-1747.
"Secret Son" tells the story of a young man who grows up in the slums of Casablanca with his mother, believing that his long deceased father was a poor, respected schoolteacher. Youssef discovers that his father is in fact alive, a wealthy businessman living in the same city. He sets out to find Nabil and for a time enters his father's sophisticated world.
Set in modern Morocco, against a background of Islamic fundamentalism and corrupt liberalism, "Secret Son" looks at the struggle for identity, the need for love and family, the factors that can turn disaffected youth to religious extremism, and the desperation that grips ordinary lives in a world divided by class, politics, and religion.
Seattle Reads "Secret Son" is designed to foster reading and discussion of works by authors of diverse cultures and ethnicities. It is made possible by The Seattle Public Library Foundation, The Wallace Foundation, and National Endowment for the Humanities, with additional support from KUOW 94.9 Public Radio, Seattle Arts & Lectures, and Alonquin Books of Chapel Hill.
To learn more about Seattle Reads:
