Customer Reviews

Desert Songs: Western Images of Morocco and Moroccan Images of the West (S U N Y Series, Margins of Literature)

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This book is a literary analysis of some literature, both fiction and nonfiction, dealing with Morocco. The author begins by stating that all Western literature stems from the Aeneid and then charges into a chapter analyzing how the story line of the Aeneid in some way captures early Western impressions of the Middle East. Unfortunately, the one paragraph or so summary he gives of the plot of the Aeneid in his introduction is not enough for anyone without a background in classical literature to make any sense of his lengthy chapter on the Aeneid. The same goes for most of the rest of the chapters- -if you are thoroughly familiar with the material he is analyzing, then perhaps you might enjoy his comments. Otherwise, his descriptions are not very useful for anyone interested in culture. The book may be of more interest for students of lit crit theory than people interested in learning about culture or travel literature. One annoying habit the author has is that of dropping names of well known writers such as Deborah Tannen without giving the reader the impression that he understood the author's point or really had a relevant reason for including the name. Contrary to the subtitle, there is extremely little, if any, material in the book about Moroccan images of the West (with the possible exception of some brief mention of the West in some folk tales told by illiterate storytellers). The author gives the impression that he was interested in women's voices because it's the in-thing rather than because he is truly interested.

I read this book three years ago while in Morocco and it struck me as a beautifully accurate observation of how culture affects one's view of the "other." It is not meant to be a travel book, nor is it light reading. It deals with a very specific subject which will be a gem for specific readers. (It's not for everybody.) I am a grad student now. I love reading about literature. If you're like me, you may want use this book as a reference for your dissertation. Bravo to Maier for his insight and clarity.