This story about a Muslim girl bound by traditional Islamic customs but who yearns for something more explores women's rights, freedom, religion, and identity. In the Libyan city of Ghadames, Malika watches her merchant father depart on one of his caravan expeditions. She too yearns to travel to distant cities, and longs to learn to read like her younger brother. But nearly 12 years old, and soon to be of marriagable age, Malika knows that-like all Muslim women-she must be content with a more secluded, more limited life. Then one night a stranger enters her home . . . someone who disrupts the traditional order of things-and who affects Malika in unexpected ways. "I was enchanted by this story of a brave Berber girl who dares to dream and its filigree of details about harem life, ancient trade routes, goddesses and healers. The real beauty of The Shadows of Ghadames is that it transcends the exotic to explore universal truths about the condition of being human."-Suzanne Fisher Staples, author of the Newbery Honor Book Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind *"Stolz invigorates her tale with elegant prose and a deft portrayal of a girl verging on adolescence. The vivid backdrop is intoxicating, but the story's universal concerns will touch readers most."-Booklist, Starred
Joëlle Stolz is a French journalist based in Vienna, where she reports for Le Monde and Radio France Internationale. The Shadows of Ghadames is her first children's novel.
From the Hardcover edition.
This story about a Muslim girl bound by traditional Islamic customs but who yearns for something more explores women's rights, freedom, religion, and identity. In the Libyan city of Ghadames, Malika watches her merchant father depart on one of his caravan expeditions. She too yearns to travel to distant cities, and longs to learn to read like her younger brother. But nearly 12 years old, and soon to be of marriagable age, Malika knows that-like all Muslim women-she must be content with a more secluded, more limited life. Then one night a stranger enters her home . . . someone who disrupts the traditional order of things-and who affects Malika in unexpected ways. "I was enchanted by this story of a brave Berber girl who dares to dream and its filigree of details about harem life, ancient trade routes, goddesses and healers. The real beauty of The Shadows of Ghadames is that it transcends the exotic to explore universal truths about the condition of being human."-Suzanne Fisher Staples, author of the Newbery Honor Book Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind *"Stolz invigorates her tale with elegant prose and a deft portrayal of a girl verging on adolescence. The vivid backdrop is intoxicating, but the story's universal concerns will touch readers most."-Booklist, Starred
Joëlle Stolz is a French journalist based in Vienna, where she reports for Le Monde and Radio France Internationale. The Shadows of Ghadames is her first children's novel.
From the Hardcover edition.
Joëlle Stolz is a French journalist based in Vienna, where she reports for Le Monde and Radio France Internationale. The Shadows of Ghadames is her first children’s novel.
Gr 5-8-In Libya at the end of the 19th century, upper-class women were confined to their homes and rooftops, leading a quiet life filled with household tasks. Nearly 12, Malika is about to enter that world, although not without regret for the loss of freedom and the education her brother has. Her father's two wives offer her good models: her upper-class mother, the "wife from home," who calmly runs the household, and her brother's mother, the "wife from the journey," who moves more freely about the city, still veiled and hiding in dark alleys when a man appears. In spite of their upbringing and their husband's departure on business, the two women rescue a man injured outside their home. Abdelkarim remains hidden with them while they nurse his wounds, and as he recovers, he and Malika come to see that the world of women is richer than they thought. He teaches Malika her alphabet before he is smuggled away, and her mother, admitting that times are changing, finally agrees to let her learn to read. This quiet story is notable for the intimate picture of the traditional Muslim world that it conveys; unfortunately, not until the author's note at the end is the time period made evident. The imprecise use of language may make it difficult for readers to visualize this distant world and to understand the characters' motivations. Still, this novel would be useful in schools studying this part of the world.-Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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