Gertrude

Through an elaborate narrative plot, the Moroccan novelist Hassan Najmi draws on the life of the American writer Gertrudestein (1898-1946), to talk about the magic and mystery of the legendary city of Bugaz, with a mixture of realism and imagination...The novel begins with a real historical incident, represented by the visit of the famous American writer Gertrudestein, accompanied by her friend Alice Toklas, to Tangier in 1912, and her meeting with a tourist guide named Muhammad, who not only introduced them to the city''s secrets and landmarks, but also informed them of the political events, as he informed them of the Sultan''s resignation. Moulay Abdel Hafeez even before this happened, as the novelist relied on this incident, which was included in a few passages from Gertrudestein''s biography, which are: " The Autobiography of Alice Toklas, published in 1934, which Hassan Najmi mentioned at the beginning of the novel to constitute a starting point for the game of imagination, thus giving the unknown character of Muhammad features and identity and making him a witness to what was happening in Tangiers and Paris at that time. On the other hand, the novel monitors a relationship The famous American writer for Matisse, Picasso, Apollinaire, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Anaïs Nin... and others, and for her permanent residence in Paris, Its famous artistic and literary salon, and its various holdings of the great painters of its time.An enjoyable novel, with a rich imagination, repercussions and references, full of atmospheres of literature, photography, and some famous names in the history of the avant-garde movements in modern art...