Mano Bouzamour

In the book, he describes his illiterate and narrow-minded parents, being beaten in the Koran school, hanging around in youth clubs and visiting luxurious homes of classmates.

In the morning the protagonist Samir played classical music on a stolen concert piano, and on Fridays, during prayers in the mosque, he struggled with fantasies of blonde and nude female devils, but his happiest hours were at night roaring through Amsterdam with his beloved brother on the Vespa.

While his brother had to serve a six-year-sentence for fraud and theft Sam promised and provided — against all odds — the degree of an elite high school.

The film, theater and radio play rights were sold, and publications in the German language and in Latin America were prepared.

Bouzamour defended his novel fiercely: "Why should my protagonist not be allowed to make jokes about the sweaty feet of his mother?"