The Diaries of Emily Saidouili [Paperback]

Bettye Hammer Givens (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2001

The Diaries of Emily Saidouili is an honest, intriguing and heartfelt look into marriage, love, children, and life from the eyes of an American woman in a foreign country. Author Bettye Givens personal experience in Morocco during the 1980's prompted her to write this novel about a romance that extends across two countries and two cultures.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"During Ramadan, Emily is hauled to prison for eating candy. Fast paced, the book is not willingly put down." -- Olton Enterprise, August 5, 2001

"Local author pens exotic novel using a diary format. Think of yourself as if you were in a Matisse painting." -- John Sigwald, from the Libray Shelves Unger Memorial Library column. Plainview Daily Hearld, August 10, 2001

Local author pens exotic novel using a diary format, "Think of yourself as if you were in a Matisse painting." -- Plainview Daily Hearld Friday, August 10, 2001

This fast-paced book is truly one that the reader will not be willing to put down nor to forget. -- Olton Enterprise by Billie Jameson August 3, 2001

About the Author

After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Wayland Baptist University, Bettye Hammer Givens received a MFA in Writing from Vermont College in Montpelier. She has contributed to or directed a large number of literary workshops and projects in England, France, Russia, and Morocco where her work was translated. One of Givens' poems was printed in THE TEXAS ANTHOLOGY, edited by Paul Ruffin. The Italian Minister of Culture presented her the Literary Prize in Poesie. In August 2000 she was appointed Poet Laureate Woman of Letters in Pampanga, Philippines. Her non-fiction has appeared in "The Christian Science Monitor," "The Texas Review" "The Pawn Review," and Paris Atlantic. She has published fiction in "The American Way" "riversedge," "Toth-Maatian Review" and other literary magazines both here and abroad. A short story, "French Landlady" was the quarterly finalist in the Moondance Film Festival in Boulder, Colorado where she taught a class on creativity. Another short story, "Tea With Mr. Bowles," won the 2000 PEN Texas Fiction Award. Since 1984 she has been director of the Summer in France Writing Workshop at Paris American Academy.

The author of THE DIARIES OF EMILY SAIDOUILI is married and lives near Plainview, Texas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 197 pages
• Publisher: Turnkey Press (June 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970819404
• ISBN-13: 978-0970819406
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,131,719 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Love Conquers All"........again., April 9, 2002

By 

C.A. Wiles (Austin, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Diaries of Emily Saidouili (Paperback)

"Love Conquers All" even the unbelieveable differences of marriage of two opposite cultures. All the believable problems do result between the American woman and the Moroccan man - she with naivete and he with sophistication. This unraveling occurs in the words of Emily's Diaries ending in the unbelievable when Emily in her estranged position of a round bolt in a square hole concludes that she has become accustomed to living in this different land and has also so desperately fallen in love with her Moroccan.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful narrative, October 26, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Diaries of Emily Saidouili (Paperback)

I was a bit skeptical at first with this book but once I started it I could not put it down. It has such a strong story and Emily's personal journey to maintain her own faith while of adopting that of her husband is truly mesmerizing. Beautiful story. Powerful Dialogue. A must read.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good tale of love and culture clash, December 23, 2003

By 

Paul Lappen (Manchester, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Diaries of Emily Saidouili (Paperback)

Emily Jacobs is your average, present-day Texan. Applying for a job at a Dallas hotel, she meets a dark-skinned man named ben Saidouili in front of his shop selling small treasure boxes. Two days later, she accepts his marriage proposal.

She knows absolutely nothing about Ben, including what country he is from, Morocco or Monaco. Now that Ben is back home in Morocco (he lives with his parents), he has become very religious and distant toward Emily. His father, Alhab, really doesn't like Emily, because she is not a proper Muslim woman, but Emily and Sharina, Alhab's wife, take an instant liking to each other.

Ben goes off every morning, leaving Emily by herself, and frequently doesn't come back until late at night. He tells her he is having a new house built for them in a nearby town, but refuses to tell her anything else. Emily makes a few friends on her own, including the wife of the Spanish Amabssador. One day, Emily decides to pay an unannounced visit to the family shop in the local bazaar. She finds Alhab in the back room, making love to an American woman, and talking to her like she is his wife. Emily is properly veiled, so Alhab doesn't know that it is her. She practically runs out of the shop, and back to the house.

Later, on a trip to look for this new house, about which Emily still knows nothing, Emily meets a woman named Animora, who says she is the wife of Ben Saidouili. Animora's house is also where Emily gives birth to Ben's son. After she recovers, divorce and taking her son back to Texas, is looking very tempting for Emily.

Finally, the house is finished, and Emily and Ben move in. The word "mansion" comes to mind; it's made with the best of everything. Emily's attitude toward Ben softens, and she decides to stay. Her parents show up for a surprise visit and bring along a part of Emily's past that she would rather keep hidden, and present Emily and Ben with a honeymoon in Paris.

Written in the form of diary excerpts, this is a really good story about the power of love to transcend even religious boundaries. This tale of modern culture clash is very much worth reading.