The Moor's Account

Estebenico is believed to be the first Black man to be brought to the Americas. In Lalami’s telling, the small party he is with becomes separated and lost, resulting in a years-long journey through unknown lands. Against a vividly detailed backdrop of the early Americas Lalami patiently lays out how Estebanico's willingness to acquire new skills in language and medicine begins to shift the dynamic of his relationship with the master who he had been brought to serve. 

This fictional account of the first Muslim to set foot in the Americas, Mustafa al-Zamori (d. c. 1534), is based on and closely follows the Spanish primary sources. The author takes us into the subjective experiences of a Moroccan enslaved by conquistadors, who has to live among them and whose facility with languages quickly turns him into an asset in their dealings with Native Americans. This reminder that Islam is no newcomer to North America is a rollicking read that nevertheless brings us to meditate on the profound issues in meaning and identity.