The Storyteller of Casablanca: two different time periods, two different woman, one hope to start over

The Storyteller of Casablanca by Fiona Valpy is a story of visitors to a strange city and finding a second chance. In 2010, Zoe Harris moved to Casablanca with her husband as his company offered him a relocation. She struggles with the move, her marriage and their baby daughter. One day she discovers a small wooden box and a diary from the 1940s beneath the floorboards of her daughter’s room. In 1941, twelve-year-old Josie Duval arrives in Casablanca with her family as France falls to the Nazi occupation. There they await safe passage to America. Life there is as intense as the sun with every sight, smell and sound is different and overwhelming. A world away from the troubles back home and Jose loves it. As Zoe reads Josie’s diary, she finds herself opening up to her new city. Seeing the city through the eyes of Josie and finding hope and comfort in the words of a young girl who saw joy and life despite the terror around her. Can Josie’s story help her mend her broken heart and find life in her new home? How does Josie’s story end? 

The Storyteller of Casablanca was a story I devoured. From the opening chapter to the final line, the story pulls you in and won’t let go. Fiona Valpy has written another amazing story. I loved Josie’s story and eagerly anticipated finding out what happened to her and finding out why her diary was left behind. Zoe was a character who was hard to figure out, and even sympathize with at certain points, but when the reason behind her broken heart was revealed, her behavior made sense and your heart breaks for her. I admit that I shed a few tears when she discusses the events around her heartbreak. I enjoyed the history woven into the story as I was only familiar with Casablanca from the famous 1942 movie with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. I wasn’t aware that many Jewish refugees fled there before searching for a safer place to call home. I also wasn’t aware of the importance of the area during World War II. I highly, highly recommend The Storyteller of Casablanca. It is a story that will stay with me for a very long time. 

The Storyteller of Casablanca is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook. 

"The Shape of Mercy" by Susan Meissner: a great book about appearances and judgments

The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner is about three women connected through time by a diary. Each woman had to face a choice, a choice that could alter her life forever. Each woman must face the standards and expectations of her time and make a life-altering decision. A decision that could bring great happiness or great sorrow.

The story opens with Lauren Dorough, a young college student at University of California, San Barbara. She grew up in a life of privilege that she is desperately trying to leave behind and prove that she can make it without the family money. She takes a job for Abigail Boyles, an 83-year old retired librarian. Abigail wants Lauren to transcribe the 17^th century diary of her relative, Mercy Hayworth, a victim of the Salem Witch Trials.

The Salem Witch Trials occurred between February 1692 – May 1693 in Salem Village (present day Danvers, Massachusetts) when a group of girls became ill and began accusing local villagers of witchcraft. In all, over 200 women and men would be accused. 19 men and women would be hanged, 1 man would be crushed to death and an unknown number of others would die in prison awaiting trial and/or execution. The mass hysteria caused by the accusations plays out in Mercy’s diary. The diary begins in January 1692. Mercy is a unique woman for her time. She can read and write. She writes “once upon a time” stories which is seen as unnatural for a woman and she keeps her stories hidden. The entries in the diary are weaved into the happenings of Lauren’s and Abigail’s lives.

There are great number of lessons in this book. Lessons in which the reader forced to confront their own judgments of others with the backdrop of one of America’s worse witch hunts. Mercy is judged a witch because she reads and writes stories. Lauren is judged a snob because she comes from money. Abigail is judged as a bitter old woman. Are these judgments correct? What evidence is there to prove or disprove these judgments? I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author took great care to get the details of the witch trials correct while tweaking some for dramatic effect. I enjoyed reading Lauren’s journey through the diary and the events in the diary help her see the faults in her life. Mercy’s story is heartbreaking. As I read, I knew her fate and yet I hope that she would get a happy ending. Unfortunately, like many of the Salem Witch Trial victims, she does not. This is the second book I’ve read by Ms. Meissner. And while the past connection with the present through an object is a theme she has carried on in many of her books. I enjoyed how she weaves the past with the present. How the past can still teach us and show our faults and possibly even offer solutions to repair these faults.

“We use the dumbest things to measure someone’s worth” –Lauren