The Diaries of Emily Saidouili
Bettye Hammer Givens

 Review by Alyce Wilson     

The concept behind this book is fascinating: an American woman falls in love with a Moroccan man, marries him and returns to his homeland. There, she learns firsthand about the restricted role of women in Moroccan society. She fights against tradition in an effort to find her own place, without sacrificing her identity. Especially in these days of heightened awareness of Arab culture, it's a good idea. Unfortunately, sometimes a good idea is not enough.

Clearly, Bettye Hammer Givens has done her homework on Moroccan culture. She includes a myriad of details about Moroccan life. But "The Diaries of Emily Saidouili" suffers from more basic failings of fictional structure.

Much of the action is unwarranted and unmotivated. What is it, for example, that Emily finds so captivating about Ben Saidouili that she marries him so suddenly? We are never given more than a rudimentary description of him, and certainly not enough to show what underlies such an immediate connection.

Emily is just as capricious when it comes to dealing with her new life in Morocco. Sometimes she attempts to meet the demands of her new role, wearing traditional clothing, for example. At other times, she flaunts her independence, leaving for an all-day shopping trip with her baby and a friend without letting anyone know. And then she is surprised when she returns home to find her family greatly distressed. Is this flightiness intentional or simply poor character development? It's not clear.

More disturbing is the problematic marriage itself. Despite secrecy and suspicions of infidelity, despite his refusal to listen to Emily's needs or concerns, Emily continues to make excuses for Ben and to take him back without even an apology. While this matches the real-life patterns of emotional abuse, it is never clear whether the author intends for us to recognize this. Emily's failure to grow or change as a result of these experiences makes it unclear what purpose they serve.

Other characters are equally perplexing, equally unmotivated, serving simply to add to the colorful texture of Moroccan life, or to provide contrast to Emily's struggles. And while the slice of life of Moroccan culture is sometimes fascinating, it is not enough. Givens would have been more successful turning her scholarship on Moroccan culture into a nonfiction work, rather than a novel.

Paris American Academy Press; ISBN: 0970819404