Moroccan novelist Rashid Boughanem begins his novel, "Pipe Dreams," with an introduction that sets the stage before delving into the text's life, deconstructing it, and engineering it through a scene that powerfully expresses both a specific and universal condition. The novelist says: "The novel's protagonist, 'Tariq,' has exhausted me with his ideas, living with me everywhere. I've contemplated his fate for nearly three years since I started writing this novel in mid-2010. I knew Tariq wouldn't let me write another book until I found a solution for his life. Sometimes I pitied his situation, and other times I blamed him. Was Tariq a victim of his society for not voicing his thoughts? Why does he feel oppressed and unable to express himself? I don't know. I couldn't even talk to him. So, I had no choice but to follow his life, leaving him the freedom of choice, or leaving fate in control. I inferred some ideas from his environment and surroundings. I knew he was a young man like any other, even if I saw some distinction in him. Perhaps there were other distinguished young men, but they find no dust to pollinate their clouds. I say to you, Tariq, wherever you are, live your life as you wish, for no one owns your freedom but you."

This 'Tariq' lives with his family in a marginalized neighborhood in the Moroccan city of Salé called "Sidi Moussa." Born in a distant village, his family migrated to this area where tin shacks formed homes for families to hide in. Despite this harsh reality, Tariq was fortunate to receive a good education and upbringing; he holds a degree in Arabic language, but to no avail. Jobs are only for those with connections to authority or those who can pay the price for a position. He decided to sell sculptures in the old city, and when he didn't find himself in that profession, he resorted to illicit substances to escape his reality, ending up with a mental illness that alienates him from everything around him.

Upon finishing the novel, the reader will inevitably find themselves amid life's ironies and the contradictions of power in the Arab world. Through this, the novelist has drawn negative and complex portraits of Moroccan society in general. The life of the protagonist, Tariq, reflects the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of lost Arab youth, not just in Morocco but across the entire Arab world. "Pipe Dreams" was a cry for change launched by Rashid Boughanem, hoping for an answer. Will there be one?

Publishing House: Arab Scientific Publishers, Lebanon
Author: Rashid Boughanem
ISBN: 9786140108417
Number of Pages: 176
Year of Publication: 2013