Have just finished reading Tangier Twilight by JV Stevenson.
It's a look at the British ex-pat community in Tangier in Morocco, almost all of whom are elderly or very elderly. I thought at first it was a travel book, but I now think it must be highly fictionalised, although perhaps based on real people. The narrator is unreliable, and says almost nothing about himself (what was he doing in Morocco? why did he seek out the company of such elderly people?).
The writing is excellent - beautiful descriptive passages alternating with scenes of subtle comedy. There is no plot as such, it is a forensic and anthropological look at the ex-pats in Morocco (barely able to fund their lifestyle; nostalgic for the past; falling ill and dying). There is a sense of Whicker Island in the book.
"The sub-tropical garden and the view of Tangier alone destroyed the illusion of being somewhere in Sussex..."
"...I considered my priorities - everyone has priorities, the things they can't do without. Mine were: servants..."
"As we stood sipping our drinks I found myself almost trembling with anticipation at the thought of seeing again a group of people I knew hardly at all yet retained so strong an impression of."
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