Dreams Of Trespass: Tales Of A Harem Girlhood

Anyone interested in Gender relations in the Muslim world should read this beautifully, brilliantly depicted description of a wealthy woman’s girlhood in Fes, during the pre-reform era.But it is an absolute must for anyone visiting Morocco, especially Fes, and especially women travelers.It puts a new twist on the life of women, who are still far too often behind closed doors in Moroccan culture, for those traveling there. It is a beautiful, disturbing, and fascinating window into the recent past of an invisible part of Moroccan society that it is very hard to get elsewhere. And it also holds truths and insight for women everywhere, in all times.(Plus, on a practical note. it tries to explain to explain the complexities of the hamam experience, so that traveling women might have a very distant hope of figuring it out without bungling everything up entirely, and without knowing Arabic. But really, that is a quite remote hope, even with her beautiful depiction of the details of it.)

A fantastic, very well written book.The fascinating memoirs of Fatima Mernissi's childhood, together with her extended family and relatives, living in a "domestic harem", are so charmingly narrated. The book is originally written in English, although the author is an Arabic native speaker.Fatima Mernissi's writing is like a liquid velvet flowing through the pages of her book, scented with Moroccan orange and lemon-tree blossom.If you wish to enjoy the above book, take your time, choose a comfortable armchair, far from noise, fly to 1940's Morocco and enter the author's harem..Here is her mother's intriguing point of view about happiness (page 80) : "When I asked her(her mother)how much happiness she had in her life, she said that it varied accordingly to the days. Some days she had 5%,others(...)100%". I wished to congratulate Fatima Mernissi for her book and for the nostalgic read she offered to me. I felt deeply sorry when I saw that she died last year, at the age of 75.

I will be traveling to Morocco soon, and I was captivated by this book. This memoir is set in the background of the French and Spanish occupations, with some incursions by Germany right before World War II, and takes place in the harem where Ms. Mernissi grew up, with visits to other harems. It is the story of her girlhood, and recounts the struggles of some of the women to emerge into more modern, less traditional roles, mainly through encouraging their daughters' educations and aspirations, and the battles of some of the other women to cling to traditions. A great glimpse into Moroccan traditions, lovingly told.

Beautifully written and inspiring! I am reading this for class. This memoir illustrates Muslim life from within through the eyes of a young girl. Must read! I would recommend this book to anyone interested in history, gender studies, or simply the joy of reading memoirs.

Reading this book - along with a couple others - magnified my enjoyment on a recent trip to Morocco. This book in particular gave a great history review during the French protectorate days and a wonderful description of a riad and the women's lives within those walls.

An interesting look at Morroco during the French occupation and in particular it was an interesting glimpse into harem life during that time period. The only reason it got three stars is that it isn't written all that well. I felt like I was reading a diary of an 11-year-old so it tended to be repetitive and a little bit boring in places.

I was rather surprised to see a couple reviewers blasting Mernissi for writing that seemingly "attacks the religion of Islam," and for misusing the term "harem." I'm quite sure our author knows exactly what a harem is, and I'm sure authors of MEMOIRS are more than welcome to display their personal thoughts, feelings, and opinions. This aside, Mernissi does not attack any religious institution in her book. She simply writes of her own mental progression, and the diverse influences on that progression throughout her youth. Do not read this book expecting political fireworks or a grand emotional saga. If those styles seem better suited for you, I recommend Savushun. This novel is a much gentler, more subtle investigation of the culture through the eyes of a young girl who is trying to make sense of her world. I find the innocence of this novel very endearing, and feel that the understated messages make this book a more powerful read than most memoirs. I hope to read this novel with my English students this year.

Not a bad book.

This memoir of a girl growing up after the 2nd world war in a Fez harem is a delight. The tone is gentle and funny and full of a close observation of the various members of the family and people who have for one reason or another been accepted into it. I love books that take you into the sense of a totally different culture and it's attitudes and this one certainly does that. It explores the tensions felt by members who would like more autonomy and the culture they find around them, the sense of change between siblings as they reach puberty and the difference between urban and country based families, but overwhelmingly I got the sense of mutual affection and tolerance that was found there.

I am very interested in the Moroccan history and way of life as I do visit Morocco regularly. It gives very good insight into the life of women in that society and underlines how it has changed for the better. A very nice light read if you are interested in the culture

I read this book years ago and loved it so much I gave away my copy only to miss it recently so another purchase. Insightful about the harem life of one family, both tender and critical. One is given the contrast of the grandmother in the country whose life is free. The dynamic between the two kinds of life a woman in Morocco might lead is thought-provoking. I enjoyed the tenderness among the women in the harem. It reminded me a bit of the 18-19th century English country house novels where women spent most of their time with each other and taking care of each other. This is a far cry from the romantic notions of the Orientalist painters, just an average family in Morocco of that time.

A glimpse of the lives led by women shuttered away behind iron gates and railing against their oppression -- that ends with two chapters on their beauty regimes. Who edited this book?

Wonderful book, it offers many perspectives, triumphs women, feminist outlook, great innocence, Fatima wrote generously, however, many things one wouldn't agree with, as everything else, but you would be surprised how a great storyteller the author, and the women in the Harem were. I recommend!