Betrayals expose fragility of family and faith

August 03, 2009|Nan Goldberg, Globe Correspondent

The title of Laila Lalami’s new novel, “Secret Son,’’ conjures thoughts of complex, interrelated tales with lots of subterfuge and stunning revelations, like “The Arabian Nights’’ or something by Dickens. And the novel does start off in that plot-driven, curiously-optimistic-despite-grim-circumstances, “David Copperfield’’ sort of way, the story working steadily toward, through, and around its dramatic confrontation between a wealthy Moroccan businessman and the illegitimate child he didn’t know existed.

Gradually, though, “Secret Son’’ metamorphoses from a Moroccan-style “Great Expectations’’ into a stark tableau, revealing layer after layer of betrayals. The plot, which had appeared to be moving reliably forward, is seen to be trudging around in circles, going nowhere. Ultimately, “Secret Son’’ is less a story than a bitter meditation on the irrelevance of story, at least in the context of fate.

The novel opens as a heavy rainstorm hits Casablanca, causing Youssef and his mother to rush their possessions indoors. The boy’s main concern, however, is to salvage a precious photo of his father, who’d died when Youssef was a baby.

The rain continues for days, flooding the filthy, overcrowded slum of Hay An Najat. Government aid is conspicuously absent, but when the rain stops, a van drives up with emergency supplies provided by an unknown organization called “The Party.’’ Because they are so grateful for the help, no one thinks to object later when The Party stays on, long after the crisis, to preach its fundamentalist message.

Despite the poverty and broken-down environment he shares with his neighbors, 18-year-old Youssef sees himself as different from them. He has prospects. He plans to go to college, and has no doubt that when the time comes he will find steady employment and leave the ghetto behind.

Like Job’s, Youssef’s faith is about to be tested.

First, Youssef discovers that his mother has lied to him about his origins. His father is not the man in the beloved photo. His father is not even dead. Youssef learns he is the illegitimate son of Nabil Amrani, a wealthy hotel developer.

Nor is Youssef’s mother an orphan, as she’d claimed. Unwed and pregnant, she’d been exiled from her family in disgrace.

Disoriented, Youssef goes to Amrani’s office and identifies himself as the developer’s son. Amrani, unexpectedly, is thrilled; he and his wife have produced only one child, a daughter. He installs Youssef in his own luxurious pied-a-terre and finds him a job at one of his hotels.