In the Country of Others by Leila Slimani

Review by Kirsten Mullin

The short:

A novel set in colonial Morocco, that explores themes of belonging, colonialism, gender, and class.

The long:

Written by Leila Slimani, In the country of othersl begins in 1944 when Mathilde, a young French woman from Alsace, falls in love with a Moroccan man Amine, serving in the French colonial army. After marrying in France, Mathilde moves with Amine to Morocco, where they settle on a farm owned by Amine’s family. 

Throughout the novel, Mathilde struggles to find her place in Moroccan society. She is both shunned by the French community for marrying an Arab, yet unable to form deep friendships with Moroccan women whose culture she does not share. At the same time, her husband grapples with his role in colonial Morocco - he is at once married to a French woman, a landlord, and a decorated soldier for the French army, yet deeply patriotic with a desire to see his country run by his own countrymen. The couple finds themselves in the space in-between; of the couple’s response to the violence of the Moroccan freedom fighters, Slimani writes, “they both belonged to a camp that didn’t exist, compassion for both the killers and the killed.”

The novel is loosely based on the lives of Slimani’s grandparents - her grandmother, Anne Ruetsch, met her grandfather Lakhdar Dobb while he was serving as a colonel in the French colonial army. After the war, she followed him to Meknes where the couple raised their family.   

To read or not to read:

Definitely read! Slimani is an excellent writer, and the novel provides a unique perspective of colonial Morocco. I felt like I learned a lot while still reading an enjoyable narrative.