Best books to read before Morocco visit? (not guide books)
 

Hi everyone,

I was hoping you might have some suggestions for pre-reading before my trip to Morocco. I like to read several books before each trip to have a better understanding and appreciation of the culture and history of where I will be traveling.

This board helped me put together a fabulous reading list before a trip to East Africa (if anyone needs suggestions, let me know).

Thanks in advance :)

travelbug19,

I highly recommend a book I finished reading last weekend called A House in Fez by Susannah Clarke.

An Australian couple purchased an old riad in the Fez medina and this book recounts their adventures in the restoration of the riad and their joyous discovery of Moroccan culture.

Cheers,


Pol

I very much enjoyed 'In Morocco' by Edith Wharton, a classic. First published in 1920, it's still highly evocative writing of the atmosphere you'll find in Morocco. Another enjoyable read is 'The Caliph's House' by Tahir Shah, who spent childhood holidays in Morocco and then, as an adult, moved to Casablanca with his wife and children.

Thanks to you both! I am going to go onliine to find these now...

I was also going to recommend the Caliph's House. Frances Mayes (of A Year in Provence fame) recently wrote A Year in the World, which includes a nice chapter on her stay in Morocco.

Hi. Another vote for Caliph's House' by Tahir Shah. I liked it so much I am currently reading his follow up book - In Arabian Nights.

This may sound like a crazy suggestion. Since I was bringing the kids, I purchased the DK Eyewitness book on Islam for $15. It has great pictures, and was informative about the history of Islam. Everything made a little more sense with the tiles, all the cats, etc. Even my husband found it interesting.

You should read Gavin Maxwell's 'Lords of the Atlas', and perhaps 'The Morocco that was' by Walter Harris; perhaps only because it's quoted heavily in Lords of the Atlas.

Both are published by Eland Publishing, whose MD wrote the Morocco guide for Cadogan, which is the best (not least as it isn't a conventional guide book).

The Caliphs House is great fun. A good book to read whilst you're here.

For a darker insight, read 'Stolen Lives' by Malika Oufkir.

Lord of the Atlas seems to be THE book to read before you go to M. Everyother book will quote from it!

Also anything by Paul Bowles.....and also books about that entire bunch of writers and wild people.

But I so agree the T. Shah books are really fun to read and easy and would be great to read as you drive the roads.

I was just there in Oct/Nov. You are going to love the entire place...the textures, the colors, the food, and of course the very charming people!!!

Another take: I actually didn't love Caliph's House, which I read before my trip almost a year ago (can't believe it's been that long...).

But I do want to reccomend "Dreams of Trespass" by Fatima Mernissi, about growing up in the Medinah in a very sex-segregated society. Fascinating.

Yes indeed. "Dreams of Trespass" is excellent...and will introduce you to another type and meaning for the word "harem."

Thanks to everyone - I am going to have a lot of reading to do before I go!!

I wonder if you would be interested in adding a book which I have written. It's called "The Last Storytellers: Tales from the Heart of Morocco" and is a collection of traditional stories recorded from the last few surviving storytellers in the main square in Marrakesh. Apart from containing fascinating tales the book is I think a vital contribution to preserving part of Morocco's rich cultural heritage that is sadly being lost amid the onset of modernity. It is published by IB Tauris and distributed outside the UK by Macmillan. It's also available on Amazon.

This thread is over 2 1/2 years old . Richard-just an FYI you are not allowed to advertise on this site!

I know this is an old thread, but it's a good topic that may interest others (like me)-

"The Arabian Nights (1001 Nights)" is a classic and, while it's not Moroccan, the imagery and lore are very relevant to Morocco. Long book though...

"The Drifters" by James Michener. I liked "The Caliph's House" too.

Can we bring this up to date? My husband and I will be going to Morocco in November, so I would like to immerse myself in books set there. Just finished The Caliph's House -- amazing. Any new suggestions?

Also, I guess there's only Lonely Planet for guidebooks today?

From my bookcase:

Paul Bowles, many including 'The Sheltering Sky'
Esther Freud, 'Hideous Kinky'
Edith Wharton, 'In Morocco'
R,B, Cunninghame Graham, 'Mogreb-el-Acksa'
Anthology (Eland, pub.) 'Marrakesh: through writers' eyes'
Walter M. Weiss, 'Morocco, In the Labyrinth of Dream & Bazaars"
Larbi Layachi, 'A Life Full of Holes'
Elias Canetti, 'The Voices of Marrakesh
Anthology (Barrie Kerper), Morocco, the collected traveler'

Also, Peter Mayne, 'A Year in Morocco'

There are other guides including Fodor's & Rough Guide. Have a look on Amazon. If you just search 'Morocco' on the site you'll find more of every kind than you can possibly read.

Some of those above may be out of print but available used on Amazon or Alibris, or from your library through interlibrary loan.

A relatively new addition is 'The Forgiven' by Lawrence Osborne. Without giving anything away that's not on the cover notes, it's about a couple who are on their way to a wild party in their friend's extravagantly renovated ksar when they run over and kill a local lad trying to stop their car to sell them fossils.

Strong sub-theme of fossils in the book which is fine by me as I'm a fossil hunter in Morocco. But the main focus is on the clash of the cultures and the attitude of the local man's father to what has happened.

I was at a 'Meet the Author' gathering in London a couple of nights ago hosted by the British Moroccan Society in which the author spoke about his thoughts in writing the book. It seems it's going to be turned into a film with shooting starting this autumn.

I also enjoyed Richard Hamilton's book (who's also a BMS member). And 'Our friends beneath the sands' by Martin Windrow which is a fine (and extremely thick) book relating the French Foreign Legion's campaigns in Morocco from 1870 to 1935.

Bookmarking - my trip is mostly planned for April 2018 and now I can focus on the fun stuff, like reading!

Thank you for the suggestions! I did look on Goodreads and Amazon, but it's hard to know what kind of books they are without looking at each one. I'm more interested in contemporary or recent memoir/fiction than those set in the past.

I ordered Lonely Planet since it has a section on the south (south of Agadir), which is where we're headed. Plus I'll be interested to read the sections in history and culture, etc.

You might be interested in 'Culture Shock! Morocco: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette' (Culture Shock! Guides).

It's a series and useful. I bought mine 20 years ago before my first visit and it answered some questions I had. There's a new edition on Amazon.