Chraibi, Driss 1926-2007
Chraibi, Driss 1926-2007
OBITUARY NOTICE—
See index for CA sketch: Born July 15, 1926, in El Jadida, Morocco; died April 1, 2007, in France. Author. Chraibi was best known as the author of novels that offered commentary on the social ills of his native Morocco. Born near Casablanca, he moved to France in 1945 as a chemistry student. After college, he worked as a laborer, night watchman, and chemical engineer for several years before finding writing success in the 1950s. Chraibi lived the rest of his life in France and wrote in his adopted country's tongue, but the subject of his books was typically Morocco. He criticized the culture's treatment of women and the traditions of Islam that restricted people's freedoms; he also wrote about the problems created by French colonialism in Morocco. Many of his novels were translated into English, including Mother Comes of Age (1985), The Simple Past (1990), and Inspector Ali (1994).
OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:
PERIODICALS
Los Angeles Times, April 5, 2007, p. B9.