Narrating Tangier A Comparative Reading of Paul Bowles's Let It Come Down and Tahar Ben Jelloun's Leaving Tangier

This article explores the literary portrayal of Tangier in Paul Bowles' Let It Come Down (1952) and Tahar Ben Jelloun's Leaving Tangier (2009). It proposes a comparative reading to point out how both narratives draw extensively on Orientalist vocabulary and Moroccan folklore to create a mythicized image of Tangier. While Let It Come Down depicts Tangier as an alluring shelter for Nelson Dyar, who escapes a dull life in New York, Leaving Tangier limns the city as a gateway to Europe for Azel and other Moroccans, who seek to escape dire living conditions. The article concludes that the two narratives may appear dissimilar upon first reading, but their comparison shows that they involve similar acts of re -Orientalist representations.