The Mosaicist

Inspired by the art of the mosaic, The Mosaicist is set in the Moroccan town of Oualili, site of the ancient Roman city of Volubilis. It is a novel conceived as three manuscripts: two novels, and a memoir. The events of the first section, ‘The Young Moor’, take place in the second century A.D. during the Roman occupation of Morocco, inspired by mosaics depicting the protest of the Moors – the original inhabitants of the region – against the Roman invasion. In the second part, set in 1994 to 1996, American author Ariadna Noel embarks on a search for a missing piece of mosaic. She is directed from afar by a fellow American, Lina, widow of a Moroccan husband, in whose house the missing piece rests. Ariadna meets Jawad, author of The Young Moor, and they begin a romantic relationship whilst she writes her own novel, Nights of Oualili, telling the story of her research and their love. The third manuscript contains the memoirs of a psychologist, Nawal al-Hinnawi, who writes about two of her patients: Tihami al-Ismaili and Ayash al-Hafyan. The latter was falsely accused of stealing the valuable statue of Bacchus from the Oualili archeological site and spent ten years in prison. The three manuscripts connect the distant past with the present and, like mosaic pieces, fit together to create a novel that is simultaneously historical, fantastical, and psychological, posing questions about freedom, memory, writing and love.