An unforgettable and eviscerating novel of human frailty, brutality,
and resistance as told through the first-person prison narratives of a
man and a woman
History of Ash is a fictional prison account narrated by Mouline and
Leila, who have been imprisoned for their political activities during
the so-called Lead Years of the 1970s and 1980s in Morocco, a period
that was characterized by heavy state repression.
Moving between past and present, between experiences lived inside the
prison cell and outside it, in the torture chamber and the judicial
system, and the challenges they faced upon their release, Mouline and
Leila describe their strategies for survival and resistance in lucid,
often searing detail, and reassess their political engagements and the
movements in which they are involved.
Written with compassion and insight, History of Ash speaks to human
brutality, resilience, and the power of the human spirit. It succeeds in
both documenting the prison experience and humanizing it, while
ultimately holding out the promise of redemption through a new
generation.