My Review for The Storyteller of Casablanca by Fiona Valpy
“The ocean is big enough to take your grief and keep it safe for you, freeing up space in your heart for other things.”
Told between the dual timelines of 1941 and 2011, The Storyteller of Casablanca features two female main characters. Josie, in 1941, is twelve years old. She is strong, feisty and determined to make the most of her unexpected time in Casablanca. Zoe, on the other hand, is completely out of her depth. She's struggling with her new surroundings, a baby daughter and no friends, and seems much happier behind the closed doors of her home. 🏡💕
I love any dual timeline novel, but it fast becomes a favourite if one timeline is during the Second World War. ❤️📖 I relished the author's insights into the sights, sounds and smells of Morocco. With the muezzin's call to prayer echoing across the city in the early morning and the fragrant smells as restaurants and homes begin cooking for the day, I found myself fully immersed in the lives of our two protagonists. 🇲🇦✨
The diary that the young Josie wrote in 1941, detailing everything that was happening as the world around her changed, is the very same diary that Zoe finds seventy years later and begins to investigate. I was hooked, and read this book as quickly as Zoe turned the pages of the diary. 📔✨ I couldn't wait to discover what secrets it would reveal. 🤫
I'm a bit behind on my reviews, but I chose this one for June's read for #kindlecrushchallenge. A very belated thank you to Amazon Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Storyteller of Casablanca by Fiona Valpy 😊📚
About the Book
Morocco, 1941. With France having fallen to Nazi occupation, twelve-year-old 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?
About Fiona
Fiona is an acclaimed number 1 bestselling author, whose books have sold millions of copies and been translated into more than thirty different languages worldwide.
She draws inspiration from the stories of strong women, especially during the years of World War II. Her meticulous research enriches her writing with an evocative sense of time and place.
She spent seven years living in France, having moved there from the UK in 2007, before returning to live in Scotland. Her love for both of these countries, their people and their histories, has found its way into many of the books she’s written.
I love any dual timeline novel, but it fast becomes a favourite if one timeline is during the Second World War. ❤️📖 I relished the author's insights into the sights, sounds and smells of Morocco. With the muezzin's call to prayer echoing across the city in the early morning and the fragrant smells as restaurants and homes begin cooking for the day, I found myself fully immersed in the lives of our two protagonists. 🇲🇦✨
The diary that the young Josie wrote in 1941, detailing everything that was happening as the world around her changed, is the very same diary that Zoe finds seventy years later and begins to investigate. I was hooked, and read this book as quickly as Zoe turned the pages of the diary. 📔✨ I couldn't wait to discover what secrets it would reveal. 🤫
I'm a bit behind on my reviews, but I chose this one for June's read for #kindlecrushchallenge. A very belated thank you to Amazon Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Storyteller of Casablanca by Fiona Valpy 😊📚
About the Book
Morocco, 1941. With France having fallen to Nazi occupation, twelve-year-old 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?
About Fiona
Fiona is an acclaimed number 1 bestselling author, whose books have sold millions of copies and been translated into more than thirty different languages worldwide.
She draws inspiration from the stories of strong women, especially during the years of World War II. Her meticulous research enriches her writing with an evocative sense of time and place.
She spent seven years living in France, having moved there from the UK in 2007, before returning to live in Scotland. Her love for both of these countries, their people and their histories, has found its way into many of the books she’s written.
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