The Country of Others

This is one of those books you read and it leaves you hanging and unable to really rate it. It wasn’t bad, it was actually quite an interesting read and very gory. Amine is a bastard and generally all the men were portrayed as abusers and bastards. They had no care for the women most of the time and if they did, it was to appease their own conscience. Mathilde is not to be spared either, she was harsh to Aïcha and Selma mainly and it was disturbing to see a mother and woman not defend her own. It was sad to read but at the same time i also see her own fragility and depression that she had to contend with the entire time. Being in Morocco in Amine’s turf gave him “power” to treat Mathilde ruthlessly as she had no place to run. The society encourages women abuse and cared not for their education. I understand it was a time in history when the country was fighting for its independence but it was a brutal society. Of course now women have better opportunities but it feels like sometimes being from a certain religious background predisposes women to violence and unkindness.