Deborah A. (metaphysicalmama) reviewed The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca on + 9 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Loved this book, and it caused me to ferret out his other works. Tahir Shah writing style is humorous as well as thoughtful. An Anglo-Afghan raised in England, he has "one eye in the East and one eye in the West". Gave me a more complete understanding of the Middle Eastern mentality. Also, there are pics of the completed house posted online should you want a visual aid to go with his descriptions of rehabbing an old house in Casablanca.
Helpful Score: 1
The Caliph's House is the author's account of moving his London family to Casablanca, of all places. Shah describes the manic experience of buying and attempting to remodel a palatial house (one wonders how he pays for it all). It's a rollicking read and you'll breeze right through it. There are interesting side stories about his family's connections to Morocco, and the various people he meets.
A few things struck me as strange-- abrupt changes in the direction of the narrative (although as I write this, it occurs to me that this may meant to set the Moroccan mood), occasionally slight attention paid to his wife and children, and a few things I thought he just neglected to describe completely.
All in all, though, this is terrific travel writing and I recommend it.
A few things struck me as strange-- abrupt changes in the direction of the narrative (although as I write this, it occurs to me that this may meant to set the Moroccan mood), occasionally slight attention paid to his wife and children, and a few things I thought he just neglected to describe completely.
All in all, though, this is terrific travel writing and I recommend it.
Very like 'A Year in Provence' except that this venture (by a Brit/Afghan family) takes place in far more exotic and possibly dangerous Casablanca in Morocco. Still, great humor told absolutely dead-pan, as the author deals with an untrustworthy architect, workmen who destroy more than they build, superstitious locals, a raft of stubborn servants, and of course, the djinns - those mysterious, wicked spirits who occupy the house and just may be trying to get rid of the new owner.
Funny, and well-written, story of a British couple's time in Casablanca, converting their fixer-upper real estate purchase.
Reading "Caliph's House" transported me to Morocco! It's well written and moves at a good pace. Part of the journey of this book is to discover each character's motivation in a culture completely different from the author's and mine.
