The Bottom of the Jar is an exploration of Laabi's childhood in his native
city of Fez - a journey undertaken through the eyes of Namoussa, the
narrator, who serves as Laabi's semi-fictional alter ego. Yet the novel is
not only a personal testament of Laabi's early years, but is a work of
great social and political import; one that reflects on and evokes the
charged atmosphere during the final days of French colonial occupation of
Morocco and the painful road to independence. The Bottom of the Jar is an
entertaining, warm and lyrical elegy.