For Bread Alone: An Autobiography [Paperback]

'A true document of human desperation, shattering in its impact.' Tennessee Williams

Five stars ... Achingly elegant ... Choukri's irrepressible, ultimately indomitable spirit is most touching and human. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Described by Tennessee Williams as "a true document of human desperation, shattering in its impact", Choukri's autobiography, of which this is the first volume, speaks for an entire generation of North Africans. Born in the Rif, Choukri moved with his family to Tangiers at a time of great famine. His childhood was spent in abject poverty, and eight of his brothers and sisters died of malnutrition or neglect. During his adolescence, described here with its attendant erotic escapades, Choukri worked for a time as servant to a French family. He then returned to Tangiers, where he experienced the violence of the 1952 independent riots. At the age of 20 and still illiterate, he took the decision to learn to read and write classical Arabic - a decision which transformed his life. After mastering the language, he became a teacher and a writer, finally being awarded the chair of Arabic Literature at Ibn Batuta College in Tangiers. Today, he is one of North Africa's most respected and widely read authors.

Mohamed Choukri is one of North Africa's most controversial and widely read authors. The story of Choukri's life is continued in Streetwise, also published by Saqi Books. Choukri died of cancer in 2003.