Lulu in Marrakech

By: Diane Johnson

Narrated by: Justine Eyre

“Like Jane Austen [Diane Johnston] steps out of the frame to anatomize her characters with sudden insight; like Virginia Woolf she creeps back in to record their inappropriate thoughts–and their consternation at having them.” –Newsweek

Lulu Sawyer arrives in Marrakech, Morocco, hoping to rekindle her romance with a worldly Englishman, Ian Drumm. It’s the perfect cover for her assignment with the American CIA: tracing the flow of money from well-heeled donors to radical Islamic groups. While spending her days poolside and her nights at lively dinner parties, Lulu observes the fragile coexistence of two cultures that, if not clashing yet, have begun to show signs of fracture. Beneath the surface of this polite expatriate community lies a more sinister world laced not only with double standards, but with double agents. The more Lulu immerses herself in the workings of Marrakech, the more questions emerge; when bombs explode, the danger is palpable.©2008 Diane Johnson; (P)2008 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Timely and provocatively incorrect, Lulu in Marrakech is part page-turning thriller, part in-depth examination of gender inequality and the ‘perennial eye infection of colonialism.’"—Oprah.com (Mysteries Every Thinking Woman Should Read)

“She has blended her interest in heavier issues with a lightness of touch… Johnson's novel is not only a gripping page-turner—I don't know when I last just plain enjoyed reading a novel as much as this one—but a serious examination of how a "good person" can get involved in some very dark things.”—Martin Rubin, SFGATE

“As the bemused observer of a complicated, chatty multicultural social set—and her own complicated romantic yearnings—[Lulu]’s a cool, self-aware delight.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Johnson breaks new ground by making her American expatriate a CIA spy in Morocco… As stimulating as Johnson’s previous work.”—Kirkus Reviews

Not an intense story

This story is more about comparing cultures than an intense plot. Food for thought.

Underwhelming

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

This book was a disappointment. I chose it because I was traveling to Marrakech, and enjoy reading a book set in the locale I will be visiting. The