Amazon.com.au:Customer reviews: The Storyteller of Casablanca

Top positive review

Magnificently Moorish

Reviewed in Australia on 10 March 2022

This book was an absolute delight to read. It had intrigue and splendour and mystery all rolled and woven into each page. I loved it so very much I just wanted to keep on reading ❤️
I would recommend this book to lovers of books that you can’t put down because the story and beautiful descriptive characters draw you in incredibly, wholly and in an intoxicating way.

Top critical review

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Caroline NZ

Skipped a lot of pages

Reviewed in Australia on 30 September 2021

I just cannot recommend this book. I skipped a lot of pages of the “diary chapters” without losing track of the story thread, which says a lot about the unnecessary boring drivel.
Its only the last quarter of the book that has any depth to it so in my opinion, not worth bothering with. A big let down after the earlier books.

2 people found this helpful

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Elizabeth B

Disappointing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 December 2021

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I have loved all Fiona Valpy's novels, especially The Beekeepers Promise and The Dressmaker's Gift. I felt I was there with them and didn't want them to end. Quite honestly I was relieved when this book did end. It felt wooden and didn't flow, and the characters just didn't come alive for me. Josie wrote like a 40 year old, not a13 year old girl, and I just didn't think Zoe was the right character for modern side to this story. I appreciate all the issues raised but felt this was a book of facts rather than a novel. Such a disappointment after waiting so long for this book to be available. Hopefully the next one will be back to Fiona Valpy's high standard.

2 people found this helpful

Derek Smith

An enjoyable holiday read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 February 2022

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A clever and enjoyable 'then and now' plot which introduced me to what seemed to be a well-researched story about the plight of WW2 refugees in Morocco escaping Nazism. The modern aspect was also interesting but I'm a bit bored with novels exploring the trials of middle class women. However the main let down was how the ending came to a sudden halt with clunky "would you believe it?" revelations. It won't win the Booker Prize but it kept me interested... until the ending.

Wirral wanderer

Not the usual standard

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 February 2022

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Having read a number of these authors books with relish I was looking for to this story. Whether it was the vagueness of the story I couldn't engage with the characters and found myself skimming pages. Don't let this book put you off this author other books were fabulous

Patricia B

interesting story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 April 2022

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I enjoyed the story but feel it was spoilt by the author showing how knowledgeable she is about quilting terms. The use of unnecessarily complicated words made me feel she had swallowed the thesaurus she mentioned. Otherwise I would have given a rating of five stars.

Kim Rogers

The ending ruins the entire story

Reviewed in Canada on 6 October 2021

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Like so many books I have read lately, the story goes back & forth between WWII and a more current time - 2010. A crucial fact about a main character in 2010 is not disclosed until near the end & it is so farcical it ruins the story. The chapters relating to WWII are plausible.

2 people found this helpful

madeleine barker

a bit.. fluffy?

Reviewed in the United States on 29 October 2021

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It was not my favourite book. I found it very difficult to get into this book, maybe it was my own life that was distracting. However that’s what I look to books to do, distract me from my life. This one could not do it. The book didn’t hook me until that 3-5 chapters. I found the tone of the book was a bit young. It is through the eyes of young Josie, but at time I felt I was reading a book directed to teenagers.

A common theme for world war 2 books is to have the book take place then and a more modern time. I found the modern character Zoe a bit boring and predictable, I kinda groaned anytime I saw her name at the start of a chapter, I would have rather heard more details about Casablanca in the war.

17 people found this helpful

H. Cross

Too many similes!

Reviewed in the United States on 10 January 2022

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This is the third book I've read by this author. Like the other two, it was enjoyable, but her books are starting to run together. The story has a mystical element, and it is not for you if you don't believe in fortunetelling. It is also not the book for you if you can't stand really stupid similes. There must be hundreds of them, and most are very trite and unnecessary. Example: "My tears were as salty as the sea." This isn't even the worst simile in the book.
The main character is a mess. She whines constantly about her husband and life. She moons over the fate of a woman she doesn't know after she finds her diary. But the book had a novel and interesting ending, which makes up for some of the god awful similes I had to endure.

2 people found this helpful

camille

Three Plus

Reviewed in the United States on 24 February 2022

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I kept asking myself why I didn’t like this book more. It was an interesting plot and an interesting main character — but maybe it was that the back and forth between time periods was too contrived, or that parts of the storyline were not plausible. Example: (and spoiler) — didn’t it seem a bit unusual on many occasions that Grace spent zero time with Tom? Or that Zoe never really discussed who was watching Grace when Zoe was out? No discussion of baby food? Too many hints.

One person found this helpful

Cathy Faulkner

A contradiction

Reviewed in the United States on 4 October 2021

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This book is written in a way that goes back and forth between present day (2010) and the second world war. Unfortunately, while there's a good story in there somewhere, the way the 2010 parts were written meant I had to keep reminding myself it was 2010 and not the 1960's (the language was too formal and the premise that all the women didn't work and spent their time lunching was just not realistic or make for likeable characters).
Some editing to make those parts seem more in the 21st century would make all the difference.

2 people found this helpful

Jenni

Good to read about WWII in a dw setting

Reviewed in the United States on 24 February 2022

Verified Purchase

I almost did not finish this book because the story moved so slow but it picked up and I was glad I finished it It was interesting to have a WWII story told in Africa instead of Europe

2 people found this helpful

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