Duke in the Arab World 2018

The tribulations of constructing of an idealistically traditional riad, although seemingly straightforward, gradually comes to confront modern and traditional Moroccan life within the work of Suzanna Clarke’s A House in Fez. Clarke’s narrative is imbedded with themes featuring a clash of fantasy and reality, traditional and modern, and exposure of the forthright Fazi culture. Filtered beneath tinted western lenses, the narrative’s journey stands at the precipice of western mentality while conversely trying (although failing) to create an image of complete detachment from it. Instead, Clarke attempts to showcase understanding of native Moroccans/Fasis and illustrates the moment when two cultures interact with another.

As the narrative unfolds, Suzanna Clarke and Sandy, –  an Australian couple – move to the ancient city of Fez within the nation-state of Morocco, entering the endeavor of restoring a traditional riad. Naturally, them not possessing a typical Moroccan appearance brought about spouts of overpriced goods, services, and the occasional crisis ranging from stolen donkeys to various misunderstandings. Clarke’s journey attempted full immersion into the Fazi culture, and although they were figuratively chewed and spit out by locals, her experiences in Fez created bonds through hardship among the environment and Fasis alike. Despite differences in mannerisms and customs, Riad Zanny (Clarke’s riad) represents a blend of two lifestyles and thus standing tribute to the possibility of them existing harmoniously without one grossly overpowering the other. A House in Fez ends on a positive note, leaving room for assumption that among the deluge of modernism throughout Fez (and similar sites), perhaps the local culture will persevere.

Particularly, Clarke proposes a myriad of themes that expresses the dual and complex nature of the city of Fez. Rather than striving to place emphasis on distinct/two-dimensional aspects of the city, Clarke evokes specific imagery of Fez to pinpoint the diversity of such an area. Among the more immediately visible themes is the coexistence of traditional and modern throughout the medieval city. As Clarke mentions “In the souks, women wearing long robes and headscarves escort daughters with beautifully cut hair and high heels” (Clarke 2). Here, Clarke demonstrates the contrast of choices and lifestyle among generations in Fez alone, expressing the flexible nature of coexistence within the city. There was another comment I personally liked concerning this theme as well: “The sight of my fancy French loo riding on top of the donkey was surreal. The only thing weirder would have been someone sitting on it” (49). The juxtaposition of a medieval city entering a new period of modernization is comically seen here, causing the city’s dual nature of old and modern to clash. I mean, would you be able to visualize a pristine white porcelain toilet riding atop a weathered donkey across the ancient and rugged stone walkways of the Medina? لا.

Additionally, the clashing of fantasy and reality are alluded to across the entire book, a point I believe to be essential in understanding both the experiences of Clarke as well as Fez itself. “Why not buy a house there? … the notion seemed fantastical, but it grabbed my imagination and began to dominate my daydreams. I had a romantic vision of ancient walls touched by golden light, within which generations of lives had been lived” (Clarke 4). Here, practicalities are disregarded and instead, an idealistic illusion of what one may think Fez life to be. This illusion is later shattered as Clarke hires workers who, obviously, lack the imagined perfection of Clarke’s initial thoughts and thus the Riad Zanny was colored with human hindrances. “We were now being asked to pay an additional four thousand dirhams for work that was shoddy and unfinished … I was furious, and for once my calm deserted me” (159). Overtime, however, I believe that the expectation of perfection and idealization of Fez by Clarke had transformed. “‘Usually,’ Rachid went on, ‘people want to make their own fantasy, but you have not done that. You have adapted [Riad Zanny], of course, but changed it so that anything new fits in with the old. I would like to bring other clients of mine here, to show them how it should be done’” (259). Not only does this demonstrate the symbol of balance Riad Zanny has achieved, I also think the narrator’s inclusion of this quote allowed understanding of her difficulties in coming to terms with fantasy vs. reality. It recognizes her greater appreciation for the beauty of the house because all the adversities faced. Similarly, if one comes into the city of Fez (or any foreign city for that matter) with expectations bordering idealistic, you may not come to appreciate the beauty of the location until you distance yourself from such thoughts.

In spite of new realizations taking place among Clarke’s work, there are certain aspects that cannot be overlooked simply due to a difference in perspective. Specifically, Clarke’s assumptions concerning an entire group of people was astonishing concerning her lack of knowledge surrounding Moroccan culture. “The loneliness and alienation that is often the reason for people in wealthy countries turning to drugs does not appear to be as much of a problem in Morocco; people are too busy coping day to day” (99). Personally, I find this assumption to be grossly wrong in that it implies the idea that mental illness does not exist within Morocco. Who is to say that Moroccans don’t cope with these similar illnesses simply because it is not immediately visible to Clarke, a foreigner? Additionally, Clarke habitually attempts to compare Moroccan lifestyle/society with that of Western lifestyle/society regardless of their dissimilarity. Simultaneously, she tries to distance herself from seemingly ignorant foreigners in Morocco, demonstrating repeated contempt for them even though her thought patterns seem to contradict her statements. For instance, she criticizes foreigners who have moved to Fez as imitating the “colonial experience” byway of limiting interactions with Moroccans to servants and housekeepers (83). Yet Clarke herself refuses herself to learn the Moroccan dialect Darija and is therefore willingly limiting her interactions among Moroccans as well.

Overall, I would recommend the book if only for entertainment purposes and not one of an informative read. As someone who has only spent a handful of days within Morocco and Fez, the book helped me obtain a very minute idea of what the country and city would be like. However, there are startling faults in the work as well, some being so blatantly biased beneath a western perspective that I wonder if some of Clarke’s points do more harm than good to person who has never been to Morocco. Overall, Clarke’s work demonstrated well formulated themes that I enjoyed and although there are evident problems on a cultural and political level, I was able to enjoy the book to a certain degree.

Clarke, Suzanna. A House in Fez: Building a Life in the Ancient Heart of Morocco. Pocket Books. Kindle Edition.

Harry Sanderson

July 1^st, 2018

DAW 2018

In A House in Fez, Suzanna Clarke successfully utilizes a unique perspective to identify the nature of Moroccan culture, emphasizing the importance of the history of Fez while also cleverly characterizing the people that live within the ancient city. So, Clarke does an excellent job in describing her gradual assimilation into Moroccan society. As A House in Fez follows the restoration of a riad in the heart of Fez, Clarke focuses her narrative around this restoration and the enticing adventures she experiences while rebuilding the riad. In her narrative, Clarke uses this restoration to showcase the deeper characterization of Moroccan culture, painting a picture of the traditional customs, interactions, and beliefs that exist among the workers she employs, the locals, and herself.

Clarke, a middle-aged Australian journalist, initially vacations in Morocco with her partner, Sandy. There, they fall in love with the country, specifically with the city of Fez and its Medina. Due to their love for Fez, they decide to begin a daring journey by purchasing a house inside Fez’s Old City. They initially are torn between a riad and dar, but settle on a rundown riad that they describe as a “fixer upper”. Thus, after purchasing their riad, Clarke is thrown into the heart of Moroccan life, sharing countless anecdotes and providing extensive details about the way of living in Morocco’s oldest city.

A House in Fez seamlessly provides the reader with information related to the riad’s restoration and Moroccan society. Clarke helps people unfamiliar with Moroccan customs get a general idea of how everyday life operates there. For example, Suzanna informs the reader on the Moroccan nature of craftsmanship while writing about the necessary items she needed to rebuild her riad. Clarke writes, “In the souk of the artisans’ guilds, everything is made by hand, much as it has been for centuries…Every quarter in the Medina has workshops of carpenters, indispensable in a city whose skeleton is made of trees,” (68-69). Thus, Clarke successfully incorporates general information about Fez into a novel that focuses on a restoration of a house.

Similarly, Clarke blends information about the Fassi people and their customs into her novel, writing about their religious practices and traditional ceremonies. She helps the reader understand how religion is viewed in this ancient city, even going beyond initial understanding by describing how important performances in festivals in Fez are to the Fassi people. Clarke writes “the Fez Festival of World Sacred Music was a reminder of what the world outside had to offer. It had begun in response to the first Gulf War of 1991, as a way of bringing different religions together to share and appreciate one another’s traditions,” (145). Thus, Clarke provides an interesting description of the importance of cultural awareness among the Fassi people, helping the reader understand the bigger picture of the greater World of Islam.

As Clarke provides a seamless narrative between the restoration of her riad and the cultural experience of Fez, she does an exceedingly good job of informing the reader about the way of Fassi life. For an innocent traveler planning on coming to Fez, Clarke helps prepare them to begin to understand what to expect upon arriving in Fez. While no book will be able to give the reader a complete understanding of this rich city, A House in Fez provides as much information about the people and culture as is possible in an enjoyable and exciting narrative.

While Clarke does an excellent job in informing the reader on Fassi traditions and culture, in certain instances she fails to realize the repetitive nature of her narrative. For example, throughout the novel Clarke writes about her experiences in shopping for building materials in the Medina, yet, to the reader, almost every shopping experience sounds repetitive. Thus, it seems as if she wasted much of the space in her novel by writing about the same experience when she could have filled these pages with new information about Fez to better prepare the reader.

Similarly, in some circumstances Clarke can seem very critical of Moroccan culture and the lifestyle some of her acquaintances choose. Naturally, as a Westerner, she is not accustomed to their lifestyles and it is expected for her to be confused and irritated in some circumstances. However, she fails to leave her bias out of a book whose overall purpose is to inform its readers on Moroccan culture and lifestyles. So, her bias can give the reader an unfair depiction of Fez and its people in some situations.

In conclusion, the book was an overall success. Clarke managed to transform a usually boring topic, the restoration of a house, into a complex and interesting novel that helped the reader understand Moroccan lifestyles. I would definitely recommend this novel to another person planning on traveling to Morocco’s oldest city, as it gave a great idea about what to expect of this city without forcing the reader to perform any research on their own. However, I also would urge the reader to not take Clarke’s bias to heart, as it is up for each individual to create their own opinions on cultures. Thus, if the reader is able to read Clarke’s bias and be informed but not persuaded by it, then the reader will have successfully absorbed the relevant information in A House in Fez.

When I told people that I would be spending six weeks studying abroad in Morocco, I was met with a gamut of responses. Many lauded the great food while some melted under the thought of the potentially excruciating summer heat. Others fretted over issues of safety and terrorism. Few failed to ask the most pressing question of all: “Why Morocco?” I didn’t have any clear answer for them. I certainly knew little about the culture outside of half-baked travel blogs and opinionated word-of-mouth commentary from my ritzy Persian neighbor. So, when I was instructed to read the novel A House in Fez by Suzanna Clarke before leaving on my trip, I was thrilled. The memoir follows the Australian journalist’s journey in her haphazard decision to buy and restore a house in the ancient Fes Medina. Throughout the book, she hails the importance of restoring the crumbling Fassi Medina through traditional methods in order to maintain its deeply rooted cultural integrity. In documenting this process, she reveals to her audience a picture of the daily Moroccan lifestyle, a view that the average tourist might miss on a whirlwind tour of the city. However, upon arriving in Morocco and living in Fes, I quickly came to realize that Clarke’s illustration hinges on the shock and moments of horror of a Western audience which obfuscates the true vibrancy of Moroccan life, scratching only the surface of the rich and complex culture.

Enchanted by the fast paced and affable residents of the intricate and labyrinthine Fes Medina, Clarke decides to purchase her own home in the area. Many of the available places are rundown, not having been changed for hundreds of years. Clarke becomes fixated on restoring an old Moroccan home to ensure the heritage of the city persists. In a risky move out of her budget, she along with her husband Sandy decide to purchase a riad from an old couple. Like any home renovation, the refurbishment of her riad is met with a myriad of frustrating challenges. Many of these snags are not necessarily those originating from the home itself, but rather in dealings with the flighty Moroccan locals. She highlights the nuisance of ever-present language barriers owed to her basic knowledge of French and lack of Darija, the colloquial Arabic derivative in Morocco. Clarke is vigilantly attentive to ensure that no one swindles her for being a foreigner, and micro-manages her seemingly incompetent workers so that the job is done to her liking. Her run-ins with the local bureaucracy often leave her feeling helpless and dejected and her dealings with neighbors show her struggle to integrate with an age-old society. Despite this, she manages to become intertwined with the local community getting to know other Europeans and expats as well as the coquettish and liberal Ayisha, an independent university student with hopes to get out of Morocco.

The more that Clarke’s story ruminates in my mind, the more problematic and inadequate the picture it paints becomes. Her relentless harping on the threat of being overcharged and issues that arise from her ethnicity frames the Moroccan culture particularly negatively. After finishing her book, I began to rethink my travels. “What have I got myself into?” I fussed, knowing it was too late to even begin thinking about cancelling. I was scared to go to a place that seemed hellbent on taking advantage of me. The moments of shock provided from skirmishes with merchants and contractors, such as Hamza and Abdul Rahim, keep the reader flipping pages, but it does very little to encourage anyone else from following in Clarke’s steps. Her characterization of Ayisha also shows a lack of care when portraying the perception of women in Morocco. Ayisha acts as a tool to help build Clarke’s “exotic” narrative. Her constant flirting and out-of-place “smoldering” and seductive personality describe Ayisha as foolishly trying to emulate the Western woman her culture forbids her to be (244). Clarke finds her dreams to be reckless and inappropriate. She lacks any empathy for her position and is always commenting on her sticking out. Still, numerous people whom she meets and talks do not fit the traditional Moroccan mold. Many of them are expats and fellow Westerners who have gone through similar situations as Clarke’s. While it might not be any fault of her own, she seems to have few friends who are actually local to her new living arrangement. This makes it feel as if she has been planted there, not integrated with the community she claims to love.

Perhaps it is not the details that Clarke chose to include in her story, but rather those she opted to omit that make her story scant. As she shines a less than favorable light on the Moroccan people, seldom does she ever offer some consolation. Where is the charm and amiability that drew her to Morocco in the first place? We hear it as a sort of legend as she neglects to show her readers these moments of kindness and warmth. That is not to say, however, that the entirety of A House in Fez is without merit. Despite its issues, it is a book everyone should read before their first visit to Morocco. It is important to be aware of those who will con you and to be able to recognize the sometimes-striking differences from Western sensibilities. The book does a respectable job of underlining these issues in a way that is both engaging and informative. The photographs she includes to document her experience also help to build a sense of familiarity with the culture and give life to her narrative. The most important thing, however, that she does is show an appreciation for the Moroccan culture. Her primary goal is to respect the architecture, the history, and the customs of the land on which she lives. This is invaluable to any traveler. Not only must they recognize that the culture of the place they are going is different, but they must also understand why they should welcome that culture and its differences.

A House in Fez is not the perfect book about Morocco; however, I don’t believe that the perfect book can be written. Clarke’s memoir is a great place for travelers and those interested in Moroccan culture to start. It should be used as a platform from which to spring to new material that dives deeper into the intricacies of the culture, be it religion, history, or art. The novel provides a brief overview of the daily Moroccan lifestyle and offers an inside look into a culture that might be very foreign to many travelers. Although, the often exaggerated and fearmongering moments of the book should not be taken as fact. When making any big decision, it is always important to get multiple opinions, and when reading this novel, we must realize that Clarke’s image of Morocco is only her own interpretation of a culture as complex as the heart of the Fes Medina.

Clarke, Suzanna. A House in Fez: Building a Life in the Ancient Heart of Morocco. Pocket Books, 2008.