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‘Hot Maroc’: An Internet Troll Novel
About the episode
Translator Alexander E. Elinson joins us to discuss Yassin Adnan’s Hot Maroc, a sprawling satire of contemporary Morocco. The novel, set in Marrakesh and online, follows the story of Rahhal Laouina, aka “The Squirrel,” who finds his voice as an anonymous internet troll – and then has it co-opted by the country’s security apparatus. While it paints a bleak picture of the possibilities of political dialogue, journalism, and self-expression, the novel itself is testament to literature’s ability to chart new imaginative territory.
Show Notes
Hot Maroc is available from Syracuse University Press in Alex Elinson’s translation
You can read an excerpt of the novel at Asymptote.
Aida Alami contextualizes the novel at Middle East Eye.
Adnan talks about the inspiration for the novel in an interview with the International Prize for Arabic Fiction
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