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A review by amyluo
The Storyteller of Casablanca by Fiona Valpy
5.0
After reading [b:The Lost Apothecary|53288434|The Lost Apothecary|Sarah Penner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593013000l/53288434._SY75_.jpg|74516135], I was unsure if I would enjoy the similar setup of [b:The Storyteller of Casablanca|57400334|The Storyteller of Casablanca|Fiona Valpy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1621718900l/57400334._SY75_.jpg|89051639]: Both storylines included a woman in modern times discovering overlapping experiences with a woman from the past.
When Zoe's husband Tom got a five-year posting to Casablanca in 2010, she found an old journal beneath the floorboards of her daughter's new room that belonged to Josiane Duval. Zoe soon became engrossed in Josie's life. Josie's diary from 1941 reveals that she is French-Jewish. Her family fled from Nazi-occupied France but are in Casablanca awaiting the paperwork to take a ship to Lisbon and onwards to America. Josie was just twelve years old at the time but already had bad dreams, so Josie's father, Guillaume (meaning: helmet, protection), gave her a journal to write down her thoughts.
[a:Fiona Valpy|5820694|Fiona Valpy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1369377281p2/5820694.jpg] wrote this book with alternate timelines, weaving Zoe and Josie's intertwining lives. Josie's journal was revealed bit by bit, but her story ended abruptly, and the journal was left behind for 70 years. "What happened to Josie?" kept me guessing through this enthralling read.
[b:The Storyteller of Casablanca|57400334|The Storyteller of Casablanca|Fiona Valpy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1621718900l/57400334._SY75_.jpg|89051639] transported me through time and space with vivid imagery of Casablanca. Even though I've never visited Morocco, I can see the colors, feel the heat, and hear the sounds. The book makes me want to travel to smell and taste Moroccan food. Historical facts are well researched. The events set in the early 1940s, escaping from Europe, and the migrant crises in north Africa are all based on actual events, and I learned a lot about the role Casablanca played in WWII. Even though the main characters are fictional, [a:Fiona Valpy|5820694|Fiona Valpy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1369377281p2/5820694.jpg] incorporated real-life historical figures such as Dorothy Ellis, Stafford Reid, Gustave Reynier, Hélène Benatar, and Josephine Baker.
[b:The Storyteller of Casablanca|57400334|The Storyteller of Casablanca|Fiona Valpy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1621718900l/57400334._SY75_.jpg|89051639] is great storytelling on so many levels. [a:Fiona Valpy|5820694|Fiona Valpy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1369377281p2/5820694.jpg] told a story where two characters are storytellers by profession. She also emphasized the role of quilts in the Underground Railroad. She described how each block and quilt tells a story - mirroring the importance of storytelling in the Moroccan culture and how storytelling and quilting bring people together. I especially enjoyed [a:Fiona Valpy|5820694|Fiona Valpy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1369377281p2/5820694.jpg]'s inclusion of stories from [b:Fables|1151331|Fables|Jean de La Fontaine|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327265085l/1151331._SY75_.jpg|921500], [b:Tales from the Thousand and One Nights|774368|Tales from the Thousand and One Nights|N.J. Dawood|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327971068l/774368._SY75_.jpg|60953613], [b:Tashelhiyt Berber Folktales from Tazerwalt|36082958|Tashelhiyt Berber Folktales from Tazerwalt (South Morocco)|Harry Stroomer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1503267632l/36082958._SX50_.jpg|57667350], [b:The Clever Rat and Other African Tales|6202316|The Clever Rat and Other African Tales|Suzi Lewis-Barned|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394356875l/6202316._SX50_.jpg|6382798].
[b:The Storyteller of Casablanca|57400334|The Storyteller of Casablanca|Fiona Valpy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1621718900l/57400334._SY75_.jpg|89051639] is a beautifully written historical fiction. The stories of Zoe and Josie illuminated the resilience of the human spirit. As the storyteller says,
When Zoe's husband Tom got a five-year posting to Casablanca in 2010, she found an old journal beneath the floorboards of her daughter's new room that belonged to Josiane Duval. Zoe soon became engrossed in Josie's life. Josie's diary from 1941 reveals that she is French-Jewish. Her family fled from Nazi-occupied France but are in Casablanca awaiting the paperwork to take a ship to Lisbon and onwards to America. Josie was just twelve years old at the time but already had bad dreams, so Josie's father, Guillaume (meaning: helmet, protection), gave her a journal to write down her thoughts.
[a:Fiona Valpy|5820694|Fiona Valpy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1369377281p2/5820694.jpg] wrote this book with alternate timelines, weaving Zoe and Josie's intertwining lives. Josie's journal was revealed bit by bit, but her story ended abruptly, and the journal was left behind for 70 years. "What happened to Josie?" kept me guessing through this enthralling read.
[b:The Storyteller of Casablanca|57400334|The Storyteller of Casablanca|Fiona Valpy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1621718900l/57400334._SY75_.jpg|89051639] transported me through time and space with vivid imagery of Casablanca. Even though I've never visited Morocco, I can see the colors, feel the heat, and hear the sounds. The book makes me want to travel to smell and taste Moroccan food. Historical facts are well researched. The events set in the early 1940s, escaping from Europe, and the migrant crises in north Africa are all based on actual events, and I learned a lot about the role Casablanca played in WWII. Even though the main characters are fictional, [a:Fiona Valpy|5820694|Fiona Valpy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1369377281p2/5820694.jpg] incorporated real-life historical figures such as Dorothy Ellis, Stafford Reid, Gustave Reynier, Hélène Benatar, and Josephine Baker.
[b:The Storyteller of Casablanca|57400334|The Storyteller of Casablanca|Fiona Valpy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1621718900l/57400334._SY75_.jpg|89051639] is great storytelling on so many levels. [a:Fiona Valpy|5820694|Fiona Valpy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1369377281p2/5820694.jpg] told a story where two characters are storytellers by profession. She also emphasized the role of quilts in the Underground Railroad. She described how each block and quilt tells a story - mirroring the importance of storytelling in the Moroccan culture and how storytelling and quilting bring people together. I especially enjoyed [a:Fiona Valpy|5820694|Fiona Valpy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1369377281p2/5820694.jpg]'s inclusion of stories from [b:Fables|1151331|Fables|Jean de La Fontaine|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327265085l/1151331._SY75_.jpg|921500], [b:Tales from the Thousand and One Nights|774368|Tales from the Thousand and One Nights|N.J. Dawood|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327971068l/774368._SY75_.jpg|60953613], [b:Tashelhiyt Berber Folktales from Tazerwalt|36082958|Tashelhiyt Berber Folktales from Tazerwalt (South Morocco)|Harry Stroomer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1503267632l/36082958._SX50_.jpg|57667350], [b:The Clever Rat and Other African Tales|6202316|The Clever Rat and Other African Tales|Suzi Lewis-Barned|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394356875l/6202316._SX50_.jpg|6382798].
[b:The Storyteller of Casablanca|57400334|The Storyteller of Casablanca|Fiona Valpy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1621718900l/57400334._SY75_.jpg|89051639] is a beautifully written historical fiction. The stories of Zoe and Josie illuminated the resilience of the human spirit. As the storyteller says,
Some things are impossible to move on from – instead, you have to find a way to live with them. The secret is to open your heart, even as it breaks. Because that’s when you discover that you have the capacity to contain it all – the pain and the love, the dark and the light. Just like the ocean. Finding the strength to do so can be quite a challenge, and it takes time. But, in the end, it’s facing up to the truth that will set you free.’