Rabat — Some people move through our everyday lives without ever becoming part of our stories, but in “Touisa”, Moroccan author Halima Hamdane places such five individuals at the heart of her book, giving space to their experiences, emotions, and the lives that often remain invisible.
The literary evening brought the novel into conversation with visual art as the gallery prepares to close its exhibition “Un air de fête” (A Festive Air). Gallerist Abla Ababou described the event as an opportunity to bring audiences together around literature and art before the gallery’s new season formally begins on October 15.
“We are taking this opportunity to bring audiences together around books, literature, and art,” said gallery owner Abla Ababou to MWN Lifestyle magazine, who also described Hamdane as “a wonderful storyteller” whose work she has followed since the beginning.
What ‘Touisa’ means
For Hamdane, the title contains the spirit of the novel. “Touisa” refers to a Moroccan tradition of mutual aid in which people combine their efforts to accomplish something that would be difficult alone.
“‘Touisa’ is really meant in the noble sense of the term. It is a notion of sharing,” Hamdane told MWN Lifestyle magazine.
She recalled how communities in rural and mountainous areas would come together to build a house or complete a harvest.
“I chose this title because there are people who are going to work together precisely to create something collectively,” Hamdane said.
Published by Éditions Al Manar in October 2025, the 162-page novel combines fiction, social observation, and traditional storytelling. The publisher describes it as a meeting between written literature and oral narrative traditions.
The idea of bringing people together is reflected in the characters themselves. The five guards featured in the book work for wealthier people, yet their own stories can go unnoticed.
For Hamdane, putting these characters at the center was a way of directing attention toward people who are often overlooked in society.
“Because, for me, there are many people who are somewhat invisible in our society,” she said. “It is simply about shining a light on them and making them visible.”
Rather than presenting them solely through their occupations, Hamdane explores them as individuals with their own histories and inner lives. Their stories reveal what can remain hidden behind an ordinary encounter.
“It is showing that they are people who also have journeys, lives, feelings, and emotions,” Hamdane explained. “Ultimately, we are dealing with human beings.”
The book also reflects Hamdane’s longstanding connection to Moroccan culture and oral storytelling. Although she has lived in France for several years, Morocco remains at the heart of much of her writing. She has written five novels, most of which are rooted in Moroccan traditions, with Moroccan characters and stories taking place in the country.
Her work also moves naturally between Arabic and French. When telling Moroccan tales, Hamdane incorporates Arabic because that is how she encountered many of these stories as a child. While she writes primarily in French, Arabic words also find their way into her written work.
“When I tell stories, it is really the two languages playing together all the time,” she said.
Making the invisible visible
The moderator of the discussion, French Professor Amina Achour, highlighted this relationship with oral heritage, noting that Hamdane’s writing creates bridges between Western and Eastern cultures through its combination of French, Arabic and Moroccan storytelling traditions.
Touisa similarly moves between different forms of storytelling, alternating narratives with traditional tales. This structure gives the book the feeling of an evening gathering where stories are passed from one person to another.
Ultimately, Hamdane hopes the stories will change the way readers perceive those around them.
When asked what she would like readers to feel or think about after closing the book, her answer was simple: “After reading this book, I will look at people differently.”
A small portrait of Morocco
Writer and journalist Ahmed Amsken saw something broader in the lives of the five guards and their employers.
“Beyond the story of these guards, beyond the story of the owners, we have the whole microcosmic story of Morocco, with its constraints and its problems,” he told MWN Lifestyle magazine.
The novel may begin with a contained group of characters, but their experiences open onto questions of class, work, inequality, memory, aspiration, and the relationships between people who occupy the same physical spaces without necessarily living in the same social world.
Amsken also compared the book’s movement between fiction and traditional tales to a storytelling gathering, with one narrative giving way to another.
That form connects directly to Hamdane’s life as both an author and a storyteller.
“I write novels and tales,” she said. “I write the tales, but I also tell them.”
Literature inside the gallery
For Ababou, hosting the presentation within an art exhibition was part of the point.
She said she has followed Hamdane’s work since its early years and praised her not only as a writer but as a storyteller.
The evening brought together readers, artists, intellectuals, and other guests inside a gallery still surrounded by the works of “Un air de fête.”
“We are using this moment to bring audiences together around the book, literature, and art,” Ababou told MWN Lifestyle magazine.
The setting was fitting for a novel built around encounters.
“Touisa” is ultimately concerned with what happens when people who normally remain unseen are given time, attention, and room to speak.
Hamdane offered the simplest description of what she hopes survives after the final page.
“After reading this book, I will look at people differently,” she said, describing the thought she hopes readers carry with them.
