The Sand Child

infobox Book |
name = The Sand Child
title_orig = L'Enfant de sable
translator = Alan Sheridan


author = Tahar Ben Jelloun
cover_artist =
country = Morocco
language = French
series =
genre = Novel
publisher = Harcourt
release_date = 1985
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages =
isbn = ISBN 0-15-179287-9 (hardback edition)
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"The Sand Child" ("l'Enfant de sable") is a 1985 novel by Moroccan author Tahar Ben Jelloun. First published in France, it offers a radical critique of contemporary Islamic society in North Africa, particularly on the treatment of women. There are strong elements of Magical Realism in the novel.

Ben Jelloun continued the story of Mohammed Ahmed/Zahra in his award-winning 1987 novel, "The Sacred Night".

Plot summary

The book is a lyrical account of the life of Mohammed Ahmed, the eighth daughter of Hajji Ahmed Suleyman. Frustrated by his failure to bring a son into the world, Ahmed is determined that his youngest daughter will be raised as a boy, with all the rights and privileges that go along with it. The first part of the book describes the father's efforts to thwart suspicion that this is a boy, especially from his jealous brothers, who look to inherit Ahmed's fortune. Using bribery and deceit, the masquerade succeeds. Mohammed Ahmed is circumcised (blood is drawn from his imaginary penis when Ahmed intentionally cuts his finger over the child during the ceremony), his breasts are bound, and he is even married off to his cousin Fatima, a sickly epileptic girl, who dies young. Only the father, the mother, and the nursemaid are ever aware of the hoax that is being perpetrated.

The story is told by a wandering storyteller, who reveals his tale, bit by bit, to an enthusiastic, though sometimes skeptical audience. To verify his story, he claims to quote from a journal that Mohammed Ahmed kept, revealing his innermost thoughts about his confused gender identity. Mohammed Ahmed also reveals himself through correspondence with a mysterious friend, who writes him letters challenging his identity.

The book changes direction after Fatima's death and the disappearance of the storyteller, forced away by the modernization of the country. The remainder of the journal has been lost, but some of the crowd that once listened to the storyteller continues to meet and share how they see the story ending. Each of them describes Mohammed Ahmed's transition back to womanhood, where she assumes the identity of Zahra. There stories have different endings, some happy, others tragic, until a blind troubador, a fictionalised version of Jorge Luis Borges, continues the tale leading up to Mohammed Ahmed/Zahra's death.