I started and finished A Sense of Direction in one evening; I couldn't really stop thinking about it, so I couldn't put it down. I found it...
Continue »
I’m an American who has lived in Marrakech for nearly 30 years and after reading this book, I’m wondering what Marrakech the author is talking about? She passes off a mish-mash of foods, traditions, names and clothing from other parts of the Islamic world that have nothing to do with Morocco. There are so many factual errors—there’s no Moroccan dish called poulet au poivres rouges; no raisins in a pigeon pastilla, and no goats in the trees on the Casablanca road, to name a few—that I couldn’t help wondering if the author was going to set her spy story in Marrakech, why on earth didn’t she take the trouble to get the details right?
There are also so many inaccuracies in her descriptions of the relations between Muslims and Christians that it would seem to add even more fuel to the fire of misunderstandings that already exist between us and the Islamic world. If you want to get an authentic look at life in Marrakech as seen by a Western woman, read another book: “Zohra’s Ladder & other Moroccan Tales.”
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(3 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.
Don't Miss
Customer Comments
dschondelmeyer has commented on (1) product.
Lulu in Marrakech by Diane Johnson
dschondelmeyer, October 1, 2008
I’m an American who has lived in Marrakech for nearly 30 years and after reading this book, I’m wondering what Marrakech the author is talking about? She passes off a mish-mash of foods, traditions, names and clothing from other parts of the Islamic world that have nothing to do with Morocco. There are so many factual errors—there’s no Moroccan dish called poulet au poivres rouges; no raisins in a pigeon pastilla, and no goats in the trees on the Casablanca road, to name a few—that I couldn’t help wondering if the author was going to set her spy story in Marrakech, why on earth didn’t she take the trouble to get the details right?There are also so many inaccuracies in her descriptions of the relations between Muslims and Christians that it would seem to add even more fuel to the fire of misunderstandings that already exist between us and the Islamic world. If you want to get an authentic look at life in Marrakech as seen by a Western woman, read another book: “Zohra’s Ladder & other Moroccan Tales.”
(3 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)