In the exhibition hall of Dar al-Tawhidi at the International Book Fair in Rabat, Moroccan author Wafa Mlih signed her new novel “I Gift You a Glass of Wine” on the evening of Wednesday, April 23. The novel narrates a complex friendship story involving three young intellectuals whose paths intersect in the streets of everyday life, splintering between political improvisation, moral confusion, and the search for meaning in a directionless reality.
The author states that her motivation for writing this work stemmed from a deep awareness of what she described as corruption and chaos permeating various domains. Thus, she chose to build the narrative around three characters representing three categories: the intellectual, the politician, and the economic actor. Each character belongs to a specific field, yet they intersect with one another in grand questions about meaning, responsibility, and loss. Mlih does not merely present the crisis; she offers through the journey of one character a potential solution. This character, after losing their memory, regains it with a new perspective that leads them toward Sufism, not as a spiritual retreat, but as a practical action that translates into real change on the ground.
In the novel, this young man escapes from the city of Fez to a marginalized village in southern Morocco. There, he begins to contribute to revitalizing the infrastructure, energizing life in a way that transcends discourse and turns into action. Mlih believes that true Sufism is practiced and embodied in daily life. It is not enough to merely believe in an idea; one must be part of it and translate it into tangible steps.
As for the title of the novel “I Gift You a Glass of Wine,” Mlih explains that it is a linguistic trap, intentional and calculated. The glass here is not a physical drink but a symbol of Sufi love, a love that gives a person a reason to persevere and rekindles the spark in relationships among people, and between humans and life itself.
Mlih also discussed the status of printed books in Morocco, expressing her concern about the digital encroachment and its impact on print publishing amidst weak support and distribution challenges. Nevertheless, she sees printed books as the original format, and the pleasure of reading can only be fully realized through them.
The main challenge she faced while writing was time. Balancing professional and familial commitments, she had to carve out special time for herself to write, amidst genuine pressure, which she describes as part of the resistance she decided to undertake.
In her message to Moroccan women writers, she urged them to remain committed to writing despite the constraints, to resist chaos through writing, and to hold onto creative action as a means of giving meaning to existence. For her, writing is not merely about producing texts; it is a battle against emptiness and against fading away.
