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Title: Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail by Malika Oufkir ISBN: 0-7868-8630-7 Publisher: Miramax Pub. Date: 01 May, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.05 (192 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Concealed
Comment: Malika Oufkir became a princess. Her story takes us into the normally inaccessible eidos of the Islamic Moroccan royal family. The consequent oppression and the resultant rush of freedom delivered to her as an immature teenager brings us to the middle of the book and the beginning of the twenty-five years of imprisonment she, her mother, her siblings, and two female relatives endured for the crimes of their patriarch, General Oufkir. I remain puzzled by certain behaviors--the irrational internal assurance they continued to have for the release that never came, the reason why they never resisted, or why it wasn't mentioned if they did. The hunger strikes they held intermittently through the years only seemed to injure themselves, not affect the King with sympathy, yet they continued with this tactic. They eventually escaped. Her tale of the days before their recapture is the best written section of the book. She never blames those who wouldn't help her, but she convinces the reader to. This book deserves reading and an honest try at understanding Malika Oufkir and the Moroccan culture that delivered her into the world.
Rating: 3
Summary: Amazing story that deserves a better telling.
Comment: "Stolen Lives" needs to be evaluated on two different levels - the moving tale of a family imprisoned under the worst conditions for 20 years and the way this amazing story has been memorialized by Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi. The subject is engrossing and important, but the book itself is not well-written. This accounts for the disparity in ratings that the book has received.
It is fascinating to read about Malika'a unique and frequently heartbreaking life. The eldest daughter of a Morococcan general, she was taken from her family and adopted by the King. Western readers will find the tales of her life in the royal household surprising and enlightening. Not only was the lifestyle outrageously lavish, it was also consisted of customs and traditions that are completely different from our own. Malika was allowed to return to her own family as a young teenager. She only had a few years to get to know her father and enjoy life outside the confines of the palace. Her father before General Oufkir was implicated in a coup attempt against the King and was assassinated. The rest of the family - Malika, her mother, her oldest brother, three young sisters and three year old baby brother were summarily imprisoned. For twenty years they lived in increasingly brutal and inhumane conditions, persecuted by the King for their father's crimes and forgotten by the world. Thanks to their uncommon courage and ingenuity, the family was able to survive and eventually escape. It's not easy to read about many of the horrors and indignities that were heaped upon the Oufkirs, but it's important that the world know about their story.
Unfortunately, the book is not worthy of this amazing story. It was written by Malika with the assistance of Michele Fitoussi. The first problem is that the book does not give sufficient background about either the history of Morrocco or General Oufkir's powerful role as one of the King's chief aides. Those unfamiliar with Moroccan history will frequently find themself at a loss for context. Second, given that this is Malika's first person account, it necessarily is a very one-sided version of history. Not that I doubt her version of events - I just would have preferred a more complete and well-researched book that included not only Malika's story but also those of her siblings. Malika frequently portrays herself as the backbone of the family, the strongest member who kept them all from succumbing to madness. This very likely is true, but it would have a much greater impact coming from someone else. Finally, the writing style is very repetitive and immature. While Michele Fitoussi is very sympathetic to Malika's story and deserves much credit for persuading her to tell her story, I have no doubt that a more objective and skilled writer would have improved the quality of the book immensely. Hopefully a serious scholar will undertake a complete telling of the Oufkir's story. I, for one, will be anxious to read it.
Rating: 2
Summary: Straining for credibility
Comment: First, I will admit that I am ignorant about the historical basis of this book. Also, if all that is described truly happened, it is of course a terrible and inhumane thing. The book, however, is so poorly written and rife with contradictions, it makes it difficult to believe that this is an accurate account. For example, the author describes the physical condition of herself and her siblings at the time of their escape as near death, starved, diseased, etc. Yet they manage to tunnel out of jail with a spoon and their bare hands, run for miles from their captors, and make their way to relative's home. (?) The photographs taken at the police station upon their capture show five healthy visages. (?) The author also portrays herself as the only reason she and her family are alive today. She gives virtually no credit to her siblings or the faithful family retainers who shared their fate. Finally, she does not seem to have been transformed from her experience. She is the same self-centered, bratty, spoiled teenager whe was when she was imprisoned. Not a good read.
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Title: Cane River by Lalita Tademy ISBN: 0446678457 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 01 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Fall On Your Knees (Oprah #45) by Ann-Marie MacDonald ISBN: 0743237188 Publisher: Scribner Pub. Date: 24 January, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates ISBN: 0452282829 Publisher: Plume Pub. Date: September, 1996 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: A Virtuous Woman by Kaye Gibbons ISBN: 0375703063 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 05 November, 1997 List Price(USD): $11.00 |
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Title: While I Was Gone by Sue Miller, Sue Miller ISBN: 0345443284 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 12 May, 2000 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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