First of all Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this Book.

I usually like a bit more fiction on my Historical fiction stories but I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

I felt for Hamou for most of the book, he was so conflicted.

I really enjoyed his correspondence with his mom and her occurrences.

Once I got used to the words I didn't understand (thank you for doing a glossary) the story grabbed hold of me.

Even though the book discusses sad topics and situations it also made me laugh a lot.

I loved the folklore and the bit og magic mixed in.

Having the reassurance that he did the best he could and is honoring his father was great.

The Happy Ending was of course the best part.

Jane Johnson’s books are always a delight to read and this book is no different.I have to admit I didn’t know much about Morocco and found the storyline fascinating. The characters were very likeable and I was almost disappointed when the book ended. Thanks to this book I will be looking to find more information about Morocco. I loved this book.

** spoiler alert **

Two short novels that fit together awkwardly

Jane Johnson's The Black Crescent is a novel about a young Moroccan man, Hamou Badi, who, we are told, is a zouhry. Zouhry children are recognizable by the single horizontal line on their palms and by a characteristic eye coloring. They are said to be children of Djinn, and to have special powers of finding things. In her Acknowledgments, Johnson tells us that her husband is a zouhry. This should answer one question I had when I began to read -- are zouhry fantasy? No, they are a real thing, and nothing that happens to Hamou or that he does would force you to believe in the supernatural. No Djinn appear in The Black Crescent.

The Black Crescent takes place in Morocco during the 1950s. France took Morocco from Spain in 1912 and ruled until 1956. In 1953 France exiled the Sultan to Madagascar. This sparked the active and eventually successful revolution that led to Moroccan independence. The first half of The Black Crescent recounts Hamou's experiences in Casablanca during the time when the revolution was most active. After escaping trouble in Casablanca Hamou returns to the rural village where he was born and is given a position of responsibility, which he acquits well until independence, and presumably beyond.

Hamou is an appealing character, as one might expect of a character modeled on the husband of a happily married author. He was the best thing about The Black Crescent. It is also an excellent picture of the struggle for Moroccan independence, seen from the point of view of a good man.

Despite having enjoyed the book, I was left a bit dissatisfied. I think the reason is the structure of the story. It felt like two short novels stitched awkwardly together. The first half is suspenseful, harrowing, and often quite violent. It comes to a climax, which feels like it has been resolved when Hamou escapes to his home village. We then have a second half which is altogether much calmer and happier in which Hamou makes a success of himself. The French/Moroccan conflict is by no means absent from this second half, but it feels far less intense than in the first half, and far less relevant to Hamou personally. I think I would have liked The Black Crescent better had it been published as two separate novellas about Hamou Badi.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for an advance reader copy of The Black Crescent. This review expresses my honest opinion. Release date 5-Mar-2024.