The Butts

work by Chraïbi

Also known as: “Les Boucs”

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June 22, 2026

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Les Boucs (1955), translated as The Butts, is a work by Moroccan novelist Driss Chraïbi. This novel shifts Chraïbi's focus from criticizing Islamic formalism to addressing the oppressed condition of North Africans living in France. Chraïbi was educated in both traditional Qurʾānic and French schools before studying chemical engineering and later neuropsychiatry in Paris. His literary career began with Le Passé simple (1954), a critique of traditionalism, followed by Les Boucs. His works often explore themes of freedom, justice, and the need for love, examining societal oppressions in both North Africa and European civilizations.1

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Driss Chraïbi
Les Boucs (1955; The Butts) shifted the author’s accusatory finger from a paternalistic Islamic formalism to the oppressed condition of many North Africans living in France. Then, leaving aside the directness of polemic, Chraïbi turned to more allegorical political expression in L’Âne (1956; “The Donkey”) and La Foule…
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Les Boucs (1955; The Butts) shifted the author’s accusatory finger from a paternalistic Islamic formalism to the oppressed condition of many North Africans living in France. Then, leaving aside the directness of polemic, Chraïbi turned to more allegorical political expression in L’Âne (1956; “The Donkey”) and La Foule…
Read More