A review by balancinghistorybooks
In Morocco by Edith Wharton

3.0

I chose Edith Wharton's In Morocco as part of my Around the World in 80 Books challenge. I am planning to visit Morocco later this year, so was particularly excited to read Wharton's travelogue. In 1917, she travelled around much of the country, reporting her findings of both setting and culture in this relatively short book of essays. Her descriptions are lovely, and the sense of place is certainly the strength within In Morocco. It is very of its time, as one might expect; there is little which is politically correct with regard to her descriptions of the Moroccan people. Good historical context has been woven in, but this occasionally overshadows Wharton's own experiences, and it starts to read like a history book which verges on the dry. In Morocco also gets bogged down in places with excessive and unnecessary quotes, which do not add a great deal to the whole, and could surely have been consolidated. The book does not always feel quite consistent, and whilst it is nicely written, it was not as interesting as I was expecting it to be. It did tend to feel a little repetitive after a while.