Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran

Schmitt traces his protagonist Moses’s path from boyhood to manhood. Abandoned by his mother shortly after his birth and subject to his father’s emotionless demeanor and criticism, Moses lacks the affective framework to grow into a well-adjusted, loving man. He is driven to an early adolescence of deceit, petty thievery, and transactional sex. Few consistent markers guide his course towards adulthood.

After bonding with Monsieur Ibrahim, Moses gradually absorbs the grocer’s simple, relevant musings on life. Claiming that his wisdom stems solely from his Koran, the grocer in reality just fuses some of its teachings with his lived experience in a loving tone. To Moses—affectionately nicknamed “Momo” by the grocer—these easily digestible morsels make much more sense than his father’s harangues. The novella documents a conversion narrative, as Moses thus symbolically replaces his father’s books—legal treatises—with a homespun version of the Koran.

Moses and Monsieur Ibrahim’s friendship becomes a father-son bond when Monsieur Ibrahim legally adopts the parentless boy. Taking in his adoptive father’s teachings during their eastward journey, Moses consciously recognizes that he is happy for the first time in his life. Amid nascent feelings of joy, he experiences the healing power of mystical dance, first with Monsieur Ibrahim, then again with the grocer’s best friend