Horses of God: A Novel Paperback – March 26, 2013

A most different view of religiously fueled terrorism, specifically that of the Islamic flavor.In this story, the main characters live, basically, in a garbage dump and eke out their living salvaging waste to sell.The come under the sway of cynical religious madmen who cultivate them with sweets and travel and indoctrination into psychotic religious beliefs.But it does raise the question: For some kid living in a garbage dump with no future and virtually no chance to improve his lot, isn't the thought of leaving this miserable life and going straight to paradise and 72 virgins a pretty shiny bauble?Toxic religion presented to the desperate, hopeless young can be an explosive combination. ... Pun totally intended.I docked this a star because I didn't find the characters to be very well developed.Spoiler alert: The narrator doesn't attain heavenly bliss after killing himself and others. He's dead at the beginning of the novel, alone and not sure where his "is" is, and recounting how he, his brother and their friends were duped into a wasteful and bloody sacrifice.not well developed

This was a good, short read, by a Morrocan man who one may expect to know what he's talking about. The story is about dirt poor young boys growing up in slums, where they earn their living picking through trash and running errands. Their friendships and dislikes of certain persons are powerful. It is heartbreaking that they become ever more militant Muslims as they grow into their teens. Some of the events and circumstances of their youth are surprising and, perhaps unbelieveable, but I recommend it..

This book was terrific. Brought a different viewpoint on terrorism, one that is rarely discussed or addressed.

Some good insight into suicide bombers-but not great

excellent

On the 2015 shortlist for the International Dublin Literary Award, this short novel is based on the 2003 Casablanca suicide bombings and tells the story from the point of view of one of the deceased bombers. The narrator recounts how he and his friends, destitute boys from one of Casablanca’s poorest neighborhoods, fell under the influence of a fundamentalist leader who offers them discipline and purpose. The characters are sketched with compassion, and the conversion of the boys into terrorists is explored in a thought-provoking manner.

This book is very insightful in the roll disenchantment and poverty can lead people to commit these autrocities. A sad but good read.

Binebine’s Horses of God, published on the tenth anniversary of the Casablanca bombings, recreates the lives of young Moroccan suicide bombers. Set in Sidi Moumen, a shantytown outside Casablanca, the novel is narrated by Yachine from beyond the grave. Raised with his ten brothers in the midst of poverty, depravity, hopelessness, they form a football team with their friends: the Stars of Sidi Moumen, which incidentally is the original French title of the book.The wretchedness of their lives makes for a harrowing read, but sections that display their sense of community are heartwarming:“They stick together; they support each other. Hunger may well stretch out its tentacles, gripping throats till they choke, but in Sidi Moumen it does not kill, because people share what little they have. Because they look to each other to measure their common distress. Tomorrow, it will be so–and–so’s turn. The day after, someone else’s. The wheel turns so fast.”In this abyss of despair, the charismatic Abu Zoubeir appears who enthralls the boys with his lofty ideas of justice, god, and paradise. Binebine does an excellent job of giving an insight to the boys’ otherness and unwanted status not just because they are in a slum but also because their parents – in most cases – see them as an extra mouth to feed. You can see how this going to lead them to do something that makes them feel important and worthwhile, even if it’s something horrific.As Yachine says, Sidi Moumen was full of the living dead, so what difference did it make if they were any less or more dead. So maybe despite their families, despite their brief spell of independence, which of course happened because of the Islamists, they didn't see a way out of the slum alive.It took me a week to read this slim book. I can't say I enjoyed it because of the subject matter, but the translation was stunning and I was hooked from the first chapter. Read this if you enjoyed Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie.

Following the 2004 suicide bombers in Casablanca Binebine has recreated the context for the nurturing of a group of fundamentalist terrorists. Raised in the dirt and dust of a north Morroccan City a group of dissolute and frustrated young men eke out existence. Despite their love for the local football team and their aspirations for its success they fall into inevitable lives of crime and violence. Yachine is protected by his brother Hamid even when murder becomes necessary. Binebine demonstrates the strength of their family ties and intense loyalty to their friends, of how they strive for independence and their own territory in a world that appears to limit both. Binebine describes the insidious way in which the lives of these boys are gradually seduced and radicalised through a harsh regime of discipline, exercise, learning, sleeplessness and promises of eternal salvation. Yachine a human and likeable young man finds himself on a path of no return, a small part of a hugely terrifying and unstoppable machine. This is a terrific book group read as the subject is topical and raises a wide range of fascinating questions. It can be read in an evening or a flight but the story will stay with you for much longer. It should be said that the brutality of some of the scenes may put off some readers.

It's an alright book,, the language is a bit baaasssicc xox

Great book highly recommend

Loved it !