A Look at Suzanna Clarke’s A House in Fez

            In Suzanna Clarke’s autobiographical book A House in Fez, Clarke makes the inspired (and yes, impulsive) decision to purchase a riad in Fez’s Madina along with her husband and pursue a lifestyle totally different than the one she had while living in Australia. Such an adventure is one few would consider let alone actually go on, and from that adventure came Clarke’s A House in Fez. From what I gleaned from the book, the Madina of Fez is a vibrant, chaotic center of culture and economy that has existed for hundreds if not thousands of years. It seems like a place that is both unforgiving and nondiscriminatory in how it requires constant wits and attention from those that exist within it. Such a way of life becomes second nature for those who have lived there, and is very foreign seeming to those who have not. For example, despite Clarke’s clear desire to live as the Moroccan’s live, she “couldn’t bring (herself) to buy chickens, though—they were a bit too fresh. Looking a squawking hen in the eye while it was being weighed and then having its neck wrung at (her) behest was beyond (her)” (Clarke, 68). However, if given the necessary time to assimilate and develop the muscle memory to not only avoid the many ways in which one can be taken advantage of in the Madina, but fully allow yourself to take in all the splendor the Madina has to offer. Such an environment is where the protagonist of A House in Fez finds herself after falling in love with all the chaotic splendor of the Madina and deciding to buy and restore a house there. However, despite her and her husband’s initial optimism, they encounter many issues dealing the drastically different paradigm and how that mindset manifests itself in the bureaucracy and every day business practices of the Madina. Over time, through improving her confidence, linguistic abilities and cultural fluency, Suzanna was able to create a living area that existed in a balanced state between the modern accommodations she was used to before moving to the Madina and the ancient way of life that she and her husband fell in love with. Furthermore, she was able to become a self-sufficient, confident, and capable member of society. Such is demonstrated during an exchange Clarke has with her carpenter, Hamza. After tacking on surcharge after surcharge to the Clarkes’ bill, Hamza demanded an additional 20% commission while walking away. Due to having the strength and confidence necessary to stand up to such a breach of trust, Clarke yells out, “I am not paying you any more money. You decide–either give us our remaining money back or do the three windows  Such a display of growth is uplifting for her audience, who likely are composed for the most part of people interested in traveling to Morocco and also getting the most out of their visit. It is from her point of view that the story is told, putting the city in a perspective that is easy to relate to for other foreigners looking to break into the city and truly live as close to how the natives do. The book does a good job of explaining both specific concepts, like that is very well defined is that of InShaAllah, as well as more general concepts, like that concerning the differences in mindset that permeate the world of commerce in the Madina. The book does a decent job of portraying the experience of the locals, but instead prioritizes its pages to a description of Suzanna’s experience and the architectural gems that are all over. I found this to be unfortunate, as to me it is the people that define a culture and not the buildings in which they live. Furthermore, this shortcoming in Suzanna Clarke’s writing diminishes her authority as a writer, and instead establishes her moreso as a very thorough and motivated tourist. Now, while it is clear that she is not this, her writing does not reflect the true extent to which she immersed herself in the lives of the people she seemed to have interacted with. For these reasons, I would not rate the book nearly as highly as I would the actual experiences Suzanna went through. That being said, because the book dedicated such an extensive amount of space to providing a clear and vibrant picture of Fez, it did an excellent job of instilling a fascination in the romance offered by classical architecture and the beauty of not only the architecture but also the entire environment that exists within the Madina. Overall, Clarke’s A House in Fez creates a gripping picture of what life is like for a foreigner in Morocco, especially if that person is trying to be more than just a foreigner, but rather a functioning and capable part of Moroccan society. Such a role is exactly what I would like to leave Morocco having accomplished becoming. For this reason, A House in Fez was the perfect piece of reading material for me to gain an introduction to Moroccan culture, especially now that I will be living in the Madina as well. While I’m sure Clarke could have done more to illuminate the people she interacted with, she gave me everything I could need before setting out to discover the Madina’s people for myself. In fact, upon further reflection, such an apparent shortcoming may in fact be a very deliberate and effective tool of making the book more accessible to her audience, as it is a story of the house and the city more than a story of Clarke or the select people she met. As such, the city is open to all who are daring enough to take the first step and passionate enough to take the second.