Malika lives in the city of Ghadames in Libya at the turn of the nineteenth-century. Being a child, she is not restricted to the same limitations as the other women in town, but as she nears the end of her twelfth year, the limitations of her religion and society are beginning to bear down on her. She longs to travel with her father through the Sahara, to see the distant cities and villages, and to learn to read as her brother can do.
Life takes an unexpected turn when a young man is injured and Malika’s mother, Meriem, and her father’s second wife, Bilkisu, bring him into their home to help nurse him back to health. This is not allowed in their culture, something that with the father gone, could lead to terrible consequences for both the women of the house. They ban Malika’s brother, Jasim, from the rooftops which is considered the women’s domain. This decision is based on his nearing manhood so he must go to the street domain of the men and to keep him from discovering the young man, Abdelkarim, they are hiding.
Malika is drawn to the breach of society that her mother exhibits, a woman that clings to tradition. Meriem made the decision that Malika could not learn to read though her father, Mahmud, encouraged the practice. The two wives also begin to introduce Malika to the secrets of the women’s world – their rooftop markets, the way they help each other that men know nothing about, their secret rituals and gatherings that the guards of the town chose to ignore. Meriem also allows Abdelkarim to teach Malika to read, his one request. She agrees because she can see the effect Malika has had on Abdelkarim, a man that has stricter and more radical religion views than their own. His interactions with Malika are opening his eyes to how the women work and what they can offer their society.
Meeting Abdelkarim and being allowed to see the way the women’s society works helps Malika find a place in her society. Though she still wants to see and do more, she has learned that women have their own culture underneath the tradition that grants them a bit more freedom than she previously thought. Her future life no longer seems quite as confining, but her heart still yearns for more and so she reads and uses the telescope her father brings her from Instanbul to look out at the stars and the desert.
Reviews on this Batchelder Award winning book are mixed. Kirkus reviews stated, “Setting her tale at the end of the 19th century, Stolz not only weaves the sights, sounds, and daily rhythms of life in Ghadames into a vivid tapestry, she creates a cast of distinct characters, each of which displays a unique blend of strengths and weaknesses, as well as sometimes unexpected intelligence and compassion.” (2004). Common Sense Media, however, felt that modern beliefs were placed on the women – Malika’s wish to be free and to read, Bilkisu breaking law and tradition to save and hide Adbelkarim from the men in town that want him gone. CSM also felt that the characters and plot were “uneven” (2005). Common Sense Media also felt “But the author puts into the minds and mouths of the characters ideas from Western culture that don’t belong there: that women should have more freedom, that their lives are unfair, that their culture and religion are wrong-headed. At a time when building understanding between cultures is more important than ever, encouraging young readers to judge another culture by the standards of their own doesn’t seem very helpful.” (2005)
The world-building Stolz brings is lovely and dynamic. There is a strong view of the town, the way it is run, and the homes and interactions in a traditional, complicated society. Though CSM felt that Western ideals were dabbed into the characters, the yearning for freedom and the desire to learn more is something I felt some women, like young Malika, would desire. The super traditional Meriem and the more forward-thinking Bilkisu are opposite bookends that show the differences in the women in the town. Having the traditional and the more open-minded influences will guide Malika to discovering how and who she wants to be. Though I can’t speak about the religion and the cultural aspects with any true knowledge, the book offers a glimpse into the lives of women in a society that many in countries like the United States do not understand. Stolz offers a fictional story steeped in the reality of the town and the traditions. From her time in Ghadames, she stays “I am greatly indebted to the people who guided me around the labyrinth of the old alleyways, opened their houses to me, and described their childhoods on the rooftops” (1999, p119).
Common Sense Media (2005). “Book Review – The Shadows of Ghadames”. Retrieved on September 2, 2018 from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/the-shadows-of-ghadames
Kirkus Review (2004). “Book Review – Shadows of Ghadames”. Retrieved on September 2, 2018 from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/joelle-stolz/the-shadows-of-ghadames/
Stolz, Joelle (1999). The Shadows of Ghadames. New York: Delacorte Press.
Ramblings of Jhenry 