Morocco: a captivating country of honour and tradition. And, for these four women, a land of secrets and revelations.
Amina Bennis has come back to her childhood home in Morocco to attend her sister’s wedding. The time has come for her to confront her strict, traditionalist father with the secret she has kept for more than a year – her American husband, Max.
Amina’s best friend, Charlie, and Charlie’s feisty grandmother, Bea, have come along for moral support, staying with Amina and her family in their palatial riad in Fès and enjoying all that the city has to offer. But Charlie is also hiding someone from her past – a mystery man from Casablanca.
And then there’s Samira, the Bennises’ devoted housekeeper for many decades. Hers is the biggest secret of all – one that strikes at the very heart of the family.
As things begin to unravel behind the ancient walls of the medina, the four women are soon caught in a web of lies, clandestine deals and shocking confessions…
From the twisted alleyways of the ancient medina of Fès to a marriage festival high in the Atlas Mountains, The Moroccan Daughter by internationally bestselling author Deborah Rodriguez is a modern story of forbidden love set in the sensual landscape of North Africa.
Whenever I pick up one of Rodriguez’s novels, I know a great read is in store. Her previous bestsellers, The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul and The Zanzibar Wife, transported readers away from their day-to-day to gorgeous, exotic locations. The Moroccan Daughter is no different. Here, Rodriguez brings Fès’ ancient medina to vivid life, complete with bustling streets, sandstone walls, lush citrus trees and sparkling mosaic tiles. Rodriguez’s writing sings, and as I read, I felt myself immersed in the sights and smells of Morocco; I could feel the uneven stones of the medina beneath my feet, and my mouth watered with the scents of orange, ginger, and cinnamon.
Another standout feature of the novel is Rodriguez’s four leading ladies: Amira, Charlie, Bea and Samira. While these four characters are very different people, they are each strong, fierce, and capable women, and it was a genuine pleasure to follow each of them as they made their way through this dazzling setting.
Colourful, vividly imagined and extremely captivating, The Moroccan Daughter by Deborah Rodriguez is pure escapism. I’ve always wanted to visit Morocco, and while that won’t be happening anytime soon (thanks COVID-19), reading this novel was the next best thing to actually going there.
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