The Storyteller of Casablanca
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In this evocative tale from the bestselling author of The Dressmaker's Gift, a strange new city offers a young girl hope. Can it also offer a lost soul a second chance? Morocco, 1941. With France having fallen to Nazi occupation, twelve-year-old Jewish girl Josie has fled with her family to Casablanca, where they await safe passage to America. Life here is as intense as the sun, every sight, smell and sound overwhelming to the senses in a city filled with extraordinary characters. It's a world away from the trouble back home--and Josie loves it. Seventy years later, another new arrival in the intoxicating port city, Zoe, is struggling--with her marriage, her baby daughter and her new life as an expat in an unfamiliar place. But when she discovers a small wooden box and a diary from the 1940s beneath the floorboards of her daughter's bedroom, Zoe enters the inner world of young Josie, who once looked out on the same view of the Atlantic Ocean, but who knew a very different Casablanca. It's not long before Zoe begins to see her adopted city through Josie's eyes. But can a new perspective help her turn tragedy into hope, and find the comfort she needs to heal her broken heart?
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One Book. Two Stories. Both Compelling. This is a story with a LOT going on and a LOT of intricacies that it seems most (at least those on Goodreads so far, about 5 weeks before publication) miss out on touching on. This is effectively both a historical fiction (which I think it will ultimately be marketed as) of a young Jewish girl in WWII who leaves a diary behind (where does that ring a bell? ;) ) and a modern day psychological drama. Valpy does a remarkable job of bringing a sensuous and visceral understanding of both periods of Casablanca and Morocco, and both periods and their relevant issues - WWII / Nazis / Resistance / Operation Torch and modern shipping conglomerates / expats / refugees / immigrants - are shown in a degree of realism not often seen. Truly, either story could have been expanded a bit more - perhaps by extending out the later chapters of both - and stood equally well as standalone books. Which is high praise, as few dual timeline historical fiction books can pull this off, in my own reading experience at least. Truly a remarkable book, and very much recommended.
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I enjoyed this one a lot. Books set during war times usually are not my jam, but the setting of Casablanca intrigued me. The author did a good job with the setting in both timelines. That said, I far preferred Josie's sections of the book. I just didn't feel like Zoe was a very likable character. The other little niggle I had was the twist at the end. It felt thrown in for a shock moment, and I honestly just didn't see the point.
