Stolz, Joelle. THE SHADOWS OF GHADAMES. Trans. by Catherine Temerson. New York: Delacourte Press, 1999. ISBN 0385901313
Malika is an 11 year old girl growing up in Ghadames, a Libyan city, in the late 19th century. Ghadames is a city steeped in traditions where Muslim women are kept secluded from many things. Malika is a bright young girl questioning the way things are in the secret world of women and begins to see hope for change.
Many readers will know that women are considered to be inferior to men in some cultures but may not realize that there is a sort of secret world for these same women. THE SHADOWS OF GHADAMES title even alludes to the fact that women are in the shadows of what goes on in this Libyan city. Malika, the main character, is nearly 12 and almost of a marrying age and it is through her eyes that she and the reader learn many Muslim customs and customs which may not be related, festivals, and other traditions for women. "The rooftops of Ghadames are like a city above the city, an open, sunny town for women only, where they walk about, lead their own lives, visit one another, and never talk to men." Malika is inquisitive and is learning things from an ultra-traditional mother as well as her father's other wife from another city whose ways are not as strict. Malika is learning from each woman which leads to frustration while she is forming her own ideas about life. This is a theme older students will be able to relate to regardless of culture.
Many words in the book are specific to the culture and related to things such as clothing, "throwing the thick pleats of his burnoose behind his shoulder", beliefs, "jinn, or spirits", and religion, such as references to Ramadan.
A big issue for Malika is that she wants to learn to read and in Ghadames that is not normally taught to girls. We see evidence of change coming concerning this issue because her mother doesn't read but the second wife does and Malika's father would like her to learn. A visitor is able to begin teaching her after her mother consents.
Stolz also is descriptive of how the characters look. Malika's mother "has bluish tattoos on her forehead and chin, and a mark in the shape of a star on each of her cheekbones." Even jewelry worn by women is important. When the men are returning from a journey the women can wear jewelry such as "silver drops that dangle gently against their cheeks; they slip on bracelets and anklets...fasten necklaces made of fragrant grains...pin on a brooch..." Descriptions of clothing help the reader to visualize the characters also: Malika's father in a "camel-hair burnoose...and his head is wrapped in a turban with the flaps floating around his neck. When it's time to leave, he will fold them over his mouth, as the Tuareg nomads do" and the second wife, Bilkisu, "draped in indigo blue veils."
This is an eye-opening book that could raise many questions that a reader could begin researching to learn more about women in this culture.
BOOKLIST - "Stolz invigorates her tale with elegant prose and a deft portrayal of a girl verging on adolescence."
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL - "This quiet story is notable for the intimate picture of the traditional Muslim world that it conveys."
Read about Arab women:
ARAB WOMEN: BETWEEN DEFIANCE AND RESTRAINT by Suha Sabbagh
ISBN 9781566561877
Read more Batchelder Award books:
THE PULL OF THE OCEAN by Jean-Claude Mourlevat
ISBN 9780385733489
AN INNOCENT SOLDIER by Josef Holub
ISBN9780439627719
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