Stolen Lives

To escape, all we needed was fifteen years in prison, fifteen years of inhuman suffering, fifteen years of starvation, cold, fear and deprivation. And, as for intelligence, you gave us all those years to nurture and develop it. (p.251)

In this moving, true story about the imprisonment of Malika Oufkir, her siblings and her mother, Stolen Lives: Twenty Years In A Desert Jail makes one think about the freedoms in life that we enjoy and take for granted every day. Malika Oufkir, with the help of author Michele Fitoussi, begins her account with life in Morocco during her childhood when she was adopted by the king. She shows the duality of a privileged life that has a feeling of imprisonment itself. When Malika was eighteen, her father was involved in an attempted coup d'etat. He was arrested and executed. The Oufkir family was then placed under house arrest. Soon after, as the government began to feel threatened by its weaken state, the family was moved and placed in a desert prison for several years. After a failed escape, they were once again jailed and then put under further house arrest. After twenty years of imprisonment, the Oufkir family was granted their freedom; however, that freedom was not without several conditions.

I was living a fairy tale in reverse. I had been brought up as a princess and now I had turned into Cinderella. Gradually, I shed my old habits; I wore the same old clothes rather than clean trousers and shirts that reminded me too much of the past. The desert teaches you to strip yourself to the bare essentials. (pp. 106-107)

Much suffering occurred under the inhuman conditions in which the family were placed. Their courage and dignity were often challenged, but it was these two elements that kept them alive.

I suffered for Mother, who had seldom been so beautiful as she was now. I would sometimes stop what I was doing to stare at her. I suffered for my sisters who were becoming women without having been children, for Raouf, deprived of a father figure, and for Abdellatif, deprived of everything, and I felt remorse for Achoura and Halima, imprisoned alongside us out of loyalty. I suffered for us all, robbed of freedom and hope. I had mourned my father. Now I was mourning my own life. In all this wretchedness, there was one thing of which I was certain: we were the only ones who could do anything for our cause. That was what gave me strength when my morale plummeted. (p.130)

That was all there was to do. Think, ponder, cogitate, reflect and wonder. All day our brains were working. At night it was even worse; my past life came back to me in waves, my present was just this void and my future was non-existent. (pp. 167-168)

The family was separated from one another by neighboring cells. They lost track of time and space. Their physical well being deteriorated from the conditions in which they were forced to live. After ten years in the desert prison, four of the family members were able to escape.

So this was the place where we had spent ten years of our life, where we had lost our best years, our hopes, our illusions, our health and our youth. In this death camp --- there are no words to describe our prison ---we had been pariahs, cast out by the world, waiting for the end that was so slow in coming. Locked up inside, we tried to forget where we were. But now, in that field, contemplating the place where we had suffered so much, the reality suddenly came home to us. And we were devastated. (p.197)

The four were recaptured a few days later, but not before they were finally able to reach the attention of the French press. Their story was now made public and their imprisonment moved first to jail and then to house arrest once again.

All my life, the outside world had been beyond my reach. I wondered how long it would be before I could taste freedom for real. Opening the door would have been so simple, but I no longer had the strength. (pp. 242-243)

February 1991, almost twenty years after the attempted coup d'etat, the family was finally told they were free. But what did freedom mean? This they would have to find out as they healed from the conditions and terrors that they experienced and survived.

This book was recommended to me about two years ago. I had wrote the title down and rediscovered it this past year. The book was also an Oprah Book Club selection; I was unaware of this until I received a copy of the book. I found the reading slow in the beginning as I tried to absorb the names of various people and the descriptions of the country. I found myself more engulfed in the story about midway through when the writing and story flowed more smoothly. Malika Oufkir's story is heart wrenching, but it made me open my eyes wider to the reality of how governments treat those by whom they feel threatened.

Stolen Lives is a story that will definitely leave a lasting impression on its readers. It also made me take a moment today to be thankful for the sunshine and for my family.

Yet Another Challenge: Christian Genre Challenge

Yes, I have found another challenge! But this one will help me read some titles already found on my bookshelves, some of which were recently purchased. The Christian Genre Challenge runs from August to December. These months will work nicely as I continue with my other three challenges (TBR, Newbery, and Medical Mystery). It will also give me another variety of book to read!

My chosen books for the Christian Genre Challenge are:

Even Now by Karen Kingsbury (fiction/series)
Lessons For Life by John Paul II (inspirational)
Transparent by Sarah Zacharias Davis (non-fiction/women)
Left To Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza (memoir)
The Case of the Autumn Rose by Rick Acker (juvenile fiction/mystery)

Two of these selections were personally recommended and three were discovered through book reviews that I have read. I can't wait for August to arrive so I can begin reading from this new list!

On The Road

"All that again?" I cried.
"All that again, good buddy. Gotta get back to my life. Wish I could stay with you. Pray that I can come back." (p.301)

I found myself asking the same thing, all that again, as I continued my journey with Jack Kerouac's On The Road. Based on some of Kerouac's own travels, the story tells of Sal Paradise and his travels back and forth across the United States. Sal is a writer who lives with his aunt in New York when he's not crossing the country. He has numerous friends that he finds everywhere he goes. One friend in particular, Dean Moriarty, is featured throughout the story. These two men meet up and travel together under many different circumstances and with several different people as they discover life on the road.

So, this should be a fun travel adventure, right? I'm sorry to say I found it rather depressing and I just didn't get IT. (Dean often talks about IT and Sal often questions the many definitions of IT.) Be it my age, my values, my upbringing, my tastes in literature... I don't know, but this book just was not one of my favorites. The necessities of life seem to be movement (they don't stay in any one place very long), booze, "gurls", "tea", and "talking" all hours of the night. The characters can not hold down a job for more than a few weeks; they steal, lie and cheat; their idea of a friend is questionable, as they are always using someone; they feel like someone owes them; and many of their values in general are very questionable, in my opinion anyway. Sal even remarks somewhere in his narration that noone seems happy except when they are up all hours of the night partying. I know that these can make for a good storyline, but the repetitiveness of it got to be a bit much for me. Again, I just didn't get IT.

I don't regret having read On The Road. Kerouac's style of writing is very interesting. It took a while for me to get used to the rhythm of his style though, which is like a person rambling on about a story with many, many details. The characters all have a different flavor about them. And the references to some musical greats were nice to see.

But the thrill of being a sidekick on the road with Sal and Dean just wasn't there for me.

Dessert First

Booking Through Thursday for June 14, 2007

Dessert First

Do you cheat and peek ahead at the end of your books? Or do you resolutely read in sequence, as the author intended?
And, if you don’t peek, do you ever feel tempted?

I almost always read in sequence, as the author intended. I don't want to spoil the ending, especially with those books that I'm not quite sure how the story will end. (Authors are often known for a twist or two at the end.) Am I ever tempted to peek? Well... of course! I can occasionally be impatient to see what will happen with the storyline!

The Tale of Despereaux

The 2004 Newbery Medal Winner is a wonderful tale, being the story of a mouse, princess, some soup, and a spool of thread. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I laughed out loud at the adventures of Despereaux, a tiny mouse with big ears, who falls in love with Princess Pea. A rat, a serving girl, a cook, and a jailer also have major roles in this adventure of ridiculous fun.

Reader, you may ask this question: in fact, you must ask this question: Is it ridiculous for a very small, sickly, big-eared mouse to fall in love with a beautiful human princess named Pea? The answer is ... yes. Of course, it's ridiculous. Love is ridiculous. But love is also wonderful. And powerful. And Despereaux's love for the Princess Pea would prove, in time, to be all of these things: powerful, wonderful, and ridiculous. (p.32)

The author's writing style is that of a storyteller telling a fairy tale to her readers. This makes the story even more involving as she points out vocabulary, details, and history to the reader when she feels it necessary and important. The situations in which the characters find themselves lead to even more puzzling and creative fun. A rejected young girl, a mouse that just doesn't quite fit in, a rat that seeks light and not darkness, and laws that make soup and rats illegal are just some of the story lines included in this tale of love, search, revenge, and forgiveness.

Before you leave, reader, imagine this: Imagine an adoring king and a glowing princess, a serving girl with a crown on her head and a rat with a spoon on his, all gathered around a table in a banquet hall. In the middle of the table, there is a great kettle of soup. Sitting in the place of honor, right next to the princess, is a very small mouse with big ears. (p. 267)

The Tale of Despereaux has something for everyone. I loved it!

In Her Shoes

A fight and then separation between two sisters that appear to be opposites but are really struggling with the same issues in life is the storyline of In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner. Rose struggles with self esteem issues from being smart and not having a gorgeous body. Maggie struggles with self esteem issues from having a gorgeous body and not being smart. Both struggle with issues from their past that include various kinds of losses. But what does it really mean to be smart? And what does it really mean to be gorgeous?

It's a story of love, loss, and reconciliation. In Her Shoes not only has Rose and Maggie wearing one another's shoes because of their foot size, but the story has the two sisters take some time to explore who they really are and want to be; then, they unknowingly walk in one another's shoes to find a way to repair their issues and feelings. Many colorful characters add to their explorations that make this a fun book to read. One blurb on the back cover of my book stated: A breezy, sweetly oddball urban fairy tale... So true in so many ways! Although you may want to take sides with one or the other sister in the beginning, you will find yourself feeling more compassion and understanding for both women by the end of the story.

I saw the movie this past fall and was leery of reading the book after seeing the movie. But I found both to be equally enjoyable!

Medical Mystery Challenge

With forty-five minutes to go before the deadline, I submit the following list of medical mysteries for this challenge:

The Fifth Vial by Michael Palmer
Toxin by Robin Cook
Cruel and Unusual by Patricia Cornwell

Alternates (just in case):
The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell
Contagion by Robin Cook
terrOR by Joseph J Neuschatz