Review: The Black Crescent by Jane Johnson

The Black Crescent is a historical fiction set in 1950s Morocco during  Independence. Hamou Abdi, a man marked with the sign of the Djinn, seeks to find his place while navigating the clash between his people and the colonizing French. 

I learned a lot as I read this book about the country as well as the time period. The character, Hamou, was interesting because of his loyalty, responsibility, and consistently upright behaviour. His morality, that occasionally hinges on naiveté, make him a perfect perspective to follow to see the struggles faced and difficult decisions made by someone living under colonial oppression. His story is a bit winding, which can make you wonder at his role as narrator, but his “in-between” nature gives a unique point of view of the turbulent events and intrigues you as to the strange situations he finds himself in. At times the story felt abrupt and I had to resituate myself in the narrative, but these shifts in time or lack of information at points all worked to reinforce Hamou’s innocent nature during the conflict between colonizer and colonized. 

This book is a great read for those who truly love to read historical fiction, as the pacing is slower and the details intricate so that it allows you to travel back in time and experience the mundane as well as the intense and really appreciate the internal conflict of the protagonist. 

This advance copy of The Black Crescent was gifted to me by Simon & Schuster. The opinions are my own.