Canebrake," by Mohammed Mrabet presents a story of Tangier where a woman suffers the insult of being ignored by her drunken husband Kacem day in and day out as she stays cooped up in the house and slaves away cooking for him and his friend Stito. She was never allowed to go out to the hammam (Turkish bath) to bathe as she wished. It is the opinion of this author that she confronts him boldly with evidence of her infidelity with Stito and this causes him to sober up and pay attention to lovemaking with his wife. This is a covert tale of feminine boldness from the Maghreb (Mrabet 142-144).

In the story, the mortal sin of drinking is fought boldly with the visual evidence of Kacem friend Stito's infidelity. He had a bachelor and had no problems because he smoked only kif (a mild hashish blend). It kept his...
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