The Caliph's House

A few days ago I mentioned the book, The Caliph's House, and how I was going to book group to discuss it. What did people think? Before I give their thoughts, a couple of comments about the group, 11 women from 30s to 60s of varying nationalities. Some have lived in Morocco for many years and are married to Moroccans while others have been here only a year. Their thoughts:

• It was an interesting and light read but was it realistic or dramatised to make a good story as some of the events seemed quite far-fetched and unrealistic, even for Morocco e.g. the locked room, the chicken in the well making everyone sick
• The Moroccans in the book were not portrayed in a positive light, mostly they seemed to take the black market path, the men were womanisers and often domineering and rude. Only the stamp collector seemed a nice person
• some parts were realistic - the men drinking coffee in the cafes, underhand payments to get things done, sudden increase in productivity when the workers were told the king was coming to visit
  
• We all wondered how the writer's wife survived with 2 small children, all living in one room, with few walls, dust, rain and workmen everywhere. She is only mentioned rarely in the book. Did she remain there (while her husband escaped to the coffee shop) or did she get out as most of the women in our group would have done?
• How did the author communicate with the workmen, as he didn't speak French or Arabic, and where did the endless supply of money come from? I'm sure it wasn't from his writing as there aren't many rich authors out there

Anyway it is a good read if you want to learn something about Morocco, but don't believe everything your read. If you wan to buy it or further details, visit the Caliph's House