The Storyteller of Casablanca

In this evocative tale from the bestselling author of The Dressmaker's Gift, a strange new city offers a young girl hope. Can it also offer a lost soul a second chance?

Morocco, 1941. With France having fallen to Nazi occupation, twelve-year-old Josie has fled with her family to Casablanca, where they await safe passage to America. Life here is as intense as the sun, every sight, smell and sound overwhelming to the senses in a city filled with extraordinary characters. It's a world away from the trouble back home--and Josie loves it.

Seventy years later, another new arrival in the intoxicating port city, Zoe, is struggling--with her marriage, her baby daughter and her new life as an expat in an unfamiliar place. But when she discovers a small wooden box and a diary from the 1940s beneath the floorboards of her daughter's bedroom, Zoe enters the inner world of young Josie, who once looked out on the same view of the Atlantic Ocean, but who knew a very different Casablanca.

It's not long before Zoe begins to see her adopted city through Josie's eyes. But can a new perspective help her turn tragedy into hope, and find the comfort she needs to heal her broken heart?

BUY THE BOOK

315 pages

Average rating: 7.6

42 RATINGS

|

Community Reviews

rccohill
Mar 03, 2025
10/10 stars
What a wonderful book! It had me tear up in a few times. It was wonderfully pieced together. I love historical books. Rather, they are fiction or nonfiction. I definitely plan to read more from this author!
margardenlady
Dec 27, 2023
8/10 stars
This dual timeline book gives a nod to Anne Frank. In quasi modern times, Zoe has moved to Morocco with her husband after an unnamed tragedy changes their lives back in England. She finds a journal under the floor of the house they are renting. In it, we see the WWII journaling of 13 yr old Josie and from then on, the stories unfold in alternating chapters. Sweet, poignant, these stories also paint a vivid image of Morocco. Lots of literary references too - why have I not read Dorothy L Sayers?

See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.