The Road from Morocco
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The Road from Morocco
Narrated by:
Kalisha Fleischmann
Buy Now for £18.99
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Narrated by:
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Kalisha Fleischmann
About this listen
The Road from Morocco recounts the extraordinary life of Saadia and her daughter Wafa. It transports readers back in time to a Middle Eastern society far removed from modern American sensibilities—to Morocco, where Saadia was born and wed against her will at thirteen.
Based on recorded history and family memories, the book chronicles Saadia's arranged marriage and hardships as a young mother to Wafa, a French-educated, sexually liberated Muslim woman, who traveled to Europe and then to America, reaching a top position on Wall Street—in theory, the fulfillment of her American dream but in reality an overwhelming experience that threatens everything she holds dear.
Like the best of fiction, this is an intensely personal emotional rollercoaster tale full of twists and turns, which make it hard to put down. In the words of a reader: "It's beautiful even in the heartbreaking moments and utterly exquisite in the pleasant ones."
©2011 Wafa Faith Hallam (P)2016 Wafa Faith HallamListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"The more I read into Wafa Faith Hallam's The Road from Morocco, the more I realized I was holding a book that—if all literary lights are not dimmed by convention—should become an instant classic. I honestly cannot recall a time when an autobiographical account has spoken to me as forcefully as Hallam’s memoir." (Professor A. Majid, University of New England, Portland, Maine)
I really enjoyed the first part of the book about Wafak’s upbringing in Morocco. I know the towns and the districts she spoke of, but what I didn’t connect with was the hedonistic promiscuous life style she threw herself into, but boy do I admire her honesty. Unfortunately, at times it reads like a Jeremy Kyle reality show where one hears an endless litany of faithless, two timing, thieving, drug abusing, lovers who tear one’s soul apart. This book should be compulsory reading to any Moroccan wishing to leave their Country, it won’t stop Moroccos biggest export which is its people because of the dire economic situation in Morocco, but this book makes one realise the West is not pain free. Wafa grew through her pain, but I see many don’t and end up like poor Wafas Mum.
It was with relief at the end of the book that we hear of her spiritual awakening and finding Peace in her life. Morocco, Moroccan Jews tell us is one of the two places on earth where heaven is more accessible to the soul, the other being Jerusalem. The country is littered with the shrines Jewish and Muslim mystics who found the Peace that Wafa finds towards the end of the book. I’d love her to explore that side of her heritage, InshAllah in a future book.
East West Home’s Best, but where is home?
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It starts off okay, with mildly interesting descriptions of Moroccan life but most of the details were skimmed over and she could have been anywhere. Then it soon degenerates into a self-indulgent, chick-lit romp through the author's great many romantic and sexual liasons, (most of which seemed to be pretty shallow, over-hormonal and, frankly, rather tedious) as she jet-sets around the world and back again in a manner most Moroccans could only dream of. She then takes up a money-spinning corporate existence (which I skimmed over - yawn), making and losing her fortune whilst seemingly throwing it around in all directions - she has apartments in so many locations I lost track of where she is in the world at any given time - until finally she becomes all spiritual, which she spends the last few chapters gushing about in a sickly, unconvincing and rather preachy way.
I'm tempted to say this is drivel, but there are a few half-decent moments here, I've just forgotten what they are.
I also found the narrator extremely irritating. She has a very strong American accent, which might not be so annoying if you're American but it seemed to me, as a European, to be quite extreme. She mis-pronounces several things and constantly emphasises strange parts of the sentence. especially in dialogue.
Perhaps I'd have enjoyed the book better if I'd read it so I didn't have to listen to her but I think I'd still be left feeling it was time I could have spent doing something enjoyable. Shame!
Not what I was expecting at all
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