13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent for armchair travelers or anyone heading for Morocco, 3 Oct 2006
This review is from: Zohra's Ladder: And Other Stories from Morocco (Paperback)
The book's cover image is enticing, and the stories richly depict Morocco in an almost cinematic way, reminiscent of "The Sheltering Sky" and "Hideous Kinky." The author offers 26 vignettes based on seven years of living in Morocco. She kicks off with the eye-opening visit to a public bath, "An Afternoon at the Hammam," and then proceeds to one of my favorites, "Rabiah's House."
The taciturn mother of a new Moroccan friend, Rabiah generously loans the author her house in Agadir, and even accompanies her there.The location allows the author to make a genuine connection with local people, and Rabiah's motherly warmth comes across as she cooks for her and even tucks in her British charge.
My other personal favorite is "The night of the fiftieth birthday," a story about an evening at a Marrakesh restaurant on the author's birthday, where Sammi, a solitary Turkish visitor, is seated next to her table. "How brave to celebrate alone," Sammi says. The romantic story that follows will ring true for many women who have met Mediterranean men.
"Zohra's Ladder" is a strong read for armchair travelers, or those poolside in Morocco, or flying there. The vignettes move quickly (I got lost in the stories during a train ride to Washington) and its insights make a great companion to a guidebook. Kudos also to Windo for the writing itself, bright and bracing like the desert and mountains of this exotic North African land.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Morocco bound!, 25 Jun 2005
By A Customer
This review is from: Zohra's Ladder: And Other Stories from Morocco (Paperback)
A delightful, easy-to-read book - very personal stories, sensitively told by a writer who obviously loves Morocco and its people with a passion. Even though I'm a reluctant traveller, reading Zohra's Ladder actually made me want to get up and go!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great stories, 14 May 2007
This review is from: Zohra's Ladder: And Other Stories from Morocco (Paperback)
This book is recommended by Lonely Planet so I bought it before setting off to Morocco last month. While using their recommendations to find places to stay and things to do, I kept reading the stories as I went along and found myself more in tune with the people around me. The stories gave me a sense of reality and honesty, as well as a sense of humour that is vital while travelling.
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