What a beautifully written book! I really enjoyed reading this and would recommend it to others. It really is a page-turner. The setting and subject was unique and I don't come across a lot of books set in the middle east. I also enjoyed the characters and learning more of their situations and what it is like to be the wife of someone in the military and being an expat in the middle east.

This book is fantastic. It will transport you to Amman, Jordan. For awhile you will be a part of two military families living and working there. You will gain admittance to life behind the U.S. Embassy walls. The unlikely friendship between Cassie and Margaret makes you feel uncomfortable. You know things are careening to an abrupt unhappy ending, but you can't imagine how it will all turn out.

This book wasn’t for me. I decided not to review it on my site or any of the major retailers/Goodreads.

WHY DID I LISTEN TO THE CONFUSION OF LANGUAGES BY SIOBHAN FALLON?
The Confusion Of Languages by Siobhan Fallon appealed to me because it is essentially about two army wives. That is something I can kind of relate to, as my husband is a captain in the National Guard. Granted, I really face absolutely nothing like these women. However, there’s a little bit of kinship there. I went with this audiobook during a readathon because I have yet to have a negative listening experience with the two narrators. ALSO! I love listening to women’s fiction. I mean, I know we don’t use that term much anymore for a genre, but I am choosing to view the label “women’s fiction” as a badge of honor.

WHAT’S THE STORY HERE?
The Confusion Of Languages is set in Jordan. It’s about two women, Cassie Hugo and Margaret Brickshaw. Both of their husbands are soldiers who work at the US embassy and so they’ve followed their husbands overseas. Cassie has been in Jordan for awhile. Margaret is new to Jordan. Cassie obeys the rules and customs and is pretty rigid. Margaret is excited for the opportunity for new experiences and really has a tough time falling into line. One day, the two are out and get into a small little accident. However, this requires Margaret to go back to the police station. And so, Margaret asks Cassie to watch her toddler son while she drives to go handle the issue. It takes longer than Cassie expected. So, Cassie snoops and finds Margaret’s journal and begins reading.

The book then alternates between Cassie’s present day and Margaret’s past journal entries. Margaret still does not show back up. What happens is that we learn a WHOLE lot about these characters. And well, there’s this huge climatic ending. Also, there is a TON of drama. All while exploring the very different points of views of the two women this book is focused on.

HOW DID I LIKE THE CONFUSION OF LANGUAGES?
I loved this audiobook. Sometimes I am not all in. However, something about Margaret and Cassie’s stories just resonated with me. I was so invested in this book. Like, there was a point where I looked up a small character’s name and this book title because I just wanted to flip ahead. However, with audiobooks that’s impossible. I was really on edge in the best kind of way. This book still sticks with me, a week after reading it. The Confusion Of Languages by Siobhan Fallon is not an easy read– at least not emotionally — but damn if it isn’t well written.

HOW’S THE NARRATION?
The audiobook has two narrators – Jojeana Marie and Lauren Fortgang. Both are narrators that I LOVE. They really embodied Margaret and Cassie, respectively. I listened to the audiobook via the Scribd app and at a 2x pace. I felt like it wasn’t too hard to follow along with. It is 10 hours and 21 minutes long. This book is really well narrated. The production values are perfect. I think if you like women’s fiction and want to try audiobooks — you cannot go wrong with this book.

I thought this book was extremely well written and compulsively readable. I really enjoyed it.

The following review was published on my blog (blogginboutbooks.com) on 1.30.18:

For ex-pats living in the Middle East, following the rules is of utmost importance. At least, that's how 34-year-old Cassie Hugo feels. Over the last two years that her husband has been working for the American embassy in Amman, Jordan, she's learned how to handle herself in a very foreign culture. By adhering to the rules, she's remained safe and sound. Bitter because of her inability to become pregnant and the increasing strain that struggle has put on her marriage, Cassie isn't exactly happy, but she is settled into her unconventional life abroad.

Because of her expertise, Cassie agrees to mentor Margaret Brickshaw, a young mother who's just arrived in Amman with her husband. Cassie's enamored of Margaret's 15-month-old son, Mather, even if she's growing more and more frustrated with his effusive, impulsive mother. No matter how many times Cassie warns Margaret to restrain herself, the newcomer refuses to listen. Wanting only to explore and experience real Jordanian culture, she takes risks that—in a place like Amman—could be deadly.

Cassie's worst fears are realized when Margaret is arrested after a minor car accident. When she fails to return from the police station, Cassie grows concerned, then terrified. What trouble has Margaret's impetuousness gotten her into this time? How can Cassie help her if she can't even find her? And what will she do with poor Mather, who cries for his mother? In a place where breaking the rules can result in the most dire of consequences, what will happen to one hapless, naive American woman?

An ex-pat herself, Siobhan Fallon brings that unique experience to vivid life in The Confusion of Languages, her first novel (read about Fallon's real-life experiences living in Jordan here). Amman provides a colorful backdrop for a tense, engrossing story peopled with characters whose personalities and relationships are realistically complex and flawed. I cared about these story people, which kept me turning pages in order to find out their separate fates. While the tale definitely gets depressing, it's undeniably engaging. With skilled prose, a propulsive plot, an exotic setting, and intriguing characters, The Confusion of Languages is a well-crafted novel about regrets and redemption, fences vs. freedom, and caution vs. compassion. I quite enjoyed it.

(Readalikes: Hm, I can't think of anything. Can you?)

Grade: B

If this were a movie, it would be rated: R for language (a dozen or so F-bombs, plus milder expletives), violence, and sexual content

To the FTC, with love: I received an e-galley of The Confusion of Languages from the generous folks at Penguin Random House via those at NetGalley. Thank you!

American couple Cassie and Dan Hugo have been living in Jordan for the past two years. In that time, they’ve grown more familiar with their new environment, though never quite comfortable in the volatile region. Cassie, especially, is struggling, since she’s been unable to get pregnant and, therefore, has fewer things in common with most of the military wives who have young children. Her infertility woes aren’t helping the quality of her relationship with Dan either.

So when Margaret and Crick Brickshaw arrive in Jordan and become the Hugo’s new neighbors, Cassie is secretly hopeful that she might find a friend in Margaret. Oh sure, Margaret is younger and prettier, and also mother to a chunky and demanding toddler, Mather (who Cassie doesn’t much care for). But Cassie envisions herself as Margaret’s mentor, her guide to understanding the rules and regulations of their shared situation. So she’s willing to make it work.

At first, Margaret is grateful for Cassie’s advice. But soon it becomes obvious that Margaret has no intention of being confined—not to her house, not to the embassy, and certainly not by any rules. It isn’t until a freak accident leads to Margaret’s disappearance that Cassie realizes just how much her friend has been hiding.

* * * * *

Although I’ve read a lot of books, both fiction and nonfiction, about the experiences of soldiers engaged in conflicts overseas, I actually haven’t read much of anything on the experiences of military families living abroad. Cassie and Margaret’s routines, struggles, and conflicts were all new to me, so the book ended up being very eye-opening and educational in that respect.

And the story itself is so well done. Of course the mystery of the missing person drew me in, but the characters are what had me feverishly flipping pages. Margaret, especially, stole my heart. Somehow I was always as irritated with her as I was sympathetic, but I never, not once, left her corner. There is something so fragile and needy about her. On the outside she comes across as effortlessly effervescent, but inside she’s so rattled, shellshocked by grief, and overwhelmed by her own desperate longing to be seen and known, that even though she kept making stupid decision after stupid decision, I still couldn’t help empathizing with her, her humanness.

I won’t give anything away, but I will say that the ending of this book absolutely shocked me. I wasn’t expecting it at all. And, truthfully, it tormented me a bit! Is there a message in this ending? Is author Fallon letting us know that certain people, certain personalities perhaps don’t have a place in this world? And if they don’t, is that their fault or everyone else’s? Oh man, it got to me, and I’m still sorting out how I feel.

In short, this was a wonderful read. Such beautiful writing and such a moving story about friendship, marriage, jealousy, and misunderstanding. I loved it start to finish.

THE CONFUSION OF LANGUAGES by Siobhan Fallon is the story of two American women living in Jordan because their husbands are stationed there.  Cassie has been there for a while and takes newcomer Margaret under her wing but Margaret doesn't want to conform to the standards of her host country - she dresses immodestly and is too friendly with the opposite sex.  Margaret is involved in a minor accident and Cassie agrees to watch her son while she goes to the police station to settle things.  When Margaret doesn't return like she should, Cassie starts to panic and wonders if she's somehow at fault.  The point of view alternates between Cassie and Margaret giving readers insight into both women and their marriages.  Even though it was somewhat sad, I just loved this book!  Fallon's writing is superb, the characters are fantastic, and the setting is fascinating.  This book is sure to be on my list of favorites for the year.

I featured this book here: http://www.bethfishreads.com/2017/06/5-books-to-read-right-now.html

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. Very well written. Hard to put down. I really enjoyed it.

The Confusion of Languages was so mesmerizing and deftly written that I would never have guessed that it was the debut novel of author Siobhan Fallon. I kept reading even though I feared difficult and sad things would happen. Why? Because even though I knew the book was fiction, the realism of the setting and her characters shone through, and I cared about their story and what might happen to them. When I read the author's bio, I realized that the author did know whereof she wrote. Cassie Hugo and Margaret Brickshaw have very different personalities, but they are thrown together far from home where friendship is more important than differences. They have followed their soldier husbands overseas to Amman, Jordan where they are assigned to the U.S. Embassy. The book is told from the viewpoints of these two wives holding down the fort while their military husbands do their job both in Amman and further afield leaving their wives to adapt in a foreign land. Getting used to the morays of any foreign country is hard, but being a Western woman in a Middle Eastern country is particularly hard. And the two women react very differently with Cassie showing a healthy respect and fear of this very different culture, and Margaret being more of a free spirit despite her toddler son. As the novel opens, Margaret has had a fender-bender and has left Cassie back at her apartment to watch her toddler son while she makes what should be a short trip to a nearby police station. Their husbands have been sent to Rome. Hours pass, and Margaret does not come back and does not answer her phone. Cassie becomes more and more worried about what has happened to her, and both women's stories are told through flashbacks and Margaret's diary that Cassie has started to read. Here is one of my favorite quotes from the book: "I had always assumed kindness was too fleeting, too weak and insubstantial to make a lasting difference, but again, maybe I'm wrong...It is so easily destroyed, kindness, but isn't that what all of us are looking for, every moment of our sad and sorry lives?"
Thank you G.P. Putnam' Sons and NetGalley for the Advanced Readers copy of this book and for allowing me to review it.

I struggled between 3 and 4 stars on this one, and as my issue with this novel seems to be style conflict, I went with 4. I will not punish an author for my personal preferences. I had a tough time with the narrative technique used by Ms. Fallon. The device of moving forward and backward in time by having one character "reading" another's journal was confusing early on, and towards the middle of the book the voices became muddled, and the story slowed down. I definitely believe the author has extensive knowledge of the subject matter, and would be interested in her non-fiction offering.
I did appreciate the premise of the story, the settings were beautifully detailed, and the dialogue seemed appropriate. I found the characters to be not as dimensional as I would have liked, which made connecting to them difficult for me. The story itself was well conceived and entertaining.

Short Blurb:

Both Cassie Hugo and Margaret Brickshaw dutifully followed their soldier husbands to the U.S. embassy in Jordan, but that's about all the women have in common. After two years, Cassie's become an expert on the rules, but newly arrived Margaret sees only her chance to explore. So when a fender-bender sends Margaret to the local police station, Cassie reluctantly agrees to watch Margaret's toddler son. But as the hours pass, Cassie's boredom and frustration turn to fear: Why isn't Margaret answering her phone, and why is it taking so long to sort out a routine accident? Snooping around Margaret's apartment, Cassie begins to question not only her friend's whereabouts but also her own role in Margaret's disappearance.

Cover Review: The cover displays a night sky and stars, and does seem catchy. Starry covers are my favorite kind and the cover would surely have made me pick up the book.

Review:

I had high hopes for the book from the cover as well as the blurb, but I just couldn't get into it.

I found the story too monotonous and slow for my liking.

I tried very hard to read the complete book but I couldn't. Maybe it was too slow or maybe it just wasn't my type.

Be as it may, I didn't really enjoy reading this book but I hope others will. :)

On the eve of the Arab spring, two women weighed down by their secrets are put on a collision pattern in Sioban Fallon’s The Confusion of Languages.

confusionoflanguagesWhen Cassie Hugo and Margaret Brickshaw meet, it’s clear the difference between the two. Cassie, who had come to Jordan with her husband two years ago, is one who adapts to her surroundings. She’s aware of the customs of the Jordanian people and goes out of her way to make sure she’s respecting the country and the culture that she’s a visitor in. But in the time they’ve been in Jordan, she and her husband have grown distance — especially the harder they try and have a child.

Margaret, on the other hand, has it all: perfect, loving husband and beautiful baby. But it becomes clear quickly that she doesn’t believe in adapting, let alone blending in. Margaret is a woman who is born to stand out. Cassie has her suspicions about Margaret, and the lengths she’ll go to ignore the customs of her new home, but doesn’t learn the truth until the night Margaret disappears.

Both women are easy to love and hate all at once. Told in alternating points of view, the reader gets a look into what their lives — their marriages — really look like. But this story goes beyond marriage grievances and the stresses a military lifestyle can put on a relationship. What Fallon has crafted is an honest, poignant story that, on one hand, highlights the dangers of embracing ignorance and believing that American customs can transcend borders. On the other, between dialogue heavy scenes, she explores what isn’t communicated with words and how easy it is to project your own feelings and desires onto what’s left unsaid.

It’s those moments of silence, of when we force ourselves to keep our mouths shut out of respect, or fear, or because we think it’s what’s right, is when the biggest mistakes can be made. Assumption is both Cassie and Margaret’s greatest weakness. It’s what drives them together and what pushes them apart.

The Confusion of Languages is Fallon’s debut novel and the perfect read for anyone looking for a multi-layered story focused on friendship and marriage with a gripping mystery, filled with beautiful details of a foreign land.

Cassie Hugo is an American soldier’s wife. She has survived in Jordan, where Dan is stationed by learning the rules and customs and following them as carefully as possible. Lonely and struggling to get pregnant, Cassie’s marriage is beginning to falter. The couple silently blame each other for everything that is missing from their lives and elusive family. When Margaret Brickshaw arrives she appears to be all that Cassie dreams of. Thin and beautiful, married to a handsome, strapping soldier and carrying a beautiful baby boy named Mather. Cassie is given the job of hosting or introducing Margaret into life in Amman. What initially feels like babysitting morphs into Cassie’s desperate desire to have friendship, companionship and most importantly purpose. But the grass is not always greener. Life in Amman is difficult and the image of Margaret’s happy home is not remotely close to what Cassie has conjured up in her mind. It is not until she mistakenly finds Margaret’s journal that Cassie slowly learns about marriage, loneliness, friendship and the scary truth about herself. Highly recommend this extremely unique, well written glimpse into expat lives living abroad in a war torn region of the world and the solitary walls of loneliness we build to protect ourselves which simultaneously keep everyone away. Written with such in depth clarity that I felt like I was the one surreptitiously reading the journal! Great summer read from a fabulous new author.

“You become friends with someone you wouldn’t be able to stand if you actually had options.”

Siobhan Fallon’s richly textured novel The Confusion of Languages is set during 2011 in the American ex-pat community of the US embassy in Jordan. The story centres on the relationship between two of the wives, Cassandra Hugo and Margaret Brickshaw, both married to career military men, and both, due to their roles in a foreign country, shoved into an ill-fitting friendship. The novel examines conflicts between vastly contrasting cultures, the treacherous friendships between women, and the chasms between husbands and wives.

When the novel opens, Margaret Brickshaw has left her toddler, Mather, in the care of Cassandra Hugo in order to attend to the aftermath of a traffic accident. But as the hours tick away, and there’s no word from Margaret, Cassandra, bored and annoyed that she’s stranded with the baby, turns to Margaret’s journal, and there she learns some unpleasant truths about herself and possible clues to Margaret’s extended absence.

Cassandra and her husband, Dan, have already been in Jordan for a couple of years when Dan signs up to sponsor newcomers Margaret and Crick Brickshaw. Margaret, mother of a young baby, is new to military life. She doesn’t ‘get’ the rules of contact with locals, and her desire to see the ‘real’ Jordan and to be friendly infuriates Cassandra, but then again, Cassandra is annoyed with Margaret before she sets eyes on her. Margaret’s apartment is much better, but that’s not all, Margaret “blond and Brahmin thin” has “the sort of body that denotes an entire class system in America, its own regal title regardless of bank account or upbringing, Mayflower ancestors or cabbage soup diet. As long as the thinness comes with a decent set of teeth, the bearer of such luck has it made.” Plus Margaret has a sexually-charged husband and the child that Cassandra is unable to conceive. To Cassandra, Margaret “had it all,”

All this because biology favored the Brickshaws with a child. As if that’s fair. As if lucking out and being able to conceive isn’t enough, then the US government gives you extra bedrooms to pat your propagation of the species on the back

Cassandra is a tricky character. She does things that no one can actually point to as meanness or sabotage, but her actions have that result nonetheless. Cassandra had another friend before, Rebecca Eisenberg, and while Cassandra says she was just being “helpful” setting up Google alerts to be sent to Rebecca about violence in the region, what was she really playing at? We first see Margaret through Cassandra’s eyes, and Margaret seems possibly, subtly bitchy, and yet when we read Margaret’s words through her journal, we see a very troubled naive young woman who feels guilt about her mother and is unsure of her husband’s love. Beyond that, we also see the country through Margaret’s eyes: Children “trying to sell eggs, eggs! arranged in a little pyramid on a handkerchief.”

We passed a park and I saw two girls swinging, hijabs fluttering over their heads, sneakered feet kicking at the the sky.

Crick and especially Dan remain mostly in the background here, but there are scenes that take place between husbands and wives that illustrate the sex divide. In one scene for example, Crick carelessly knocks papers off the bed without a thought that his wife will be the one who picks them up, and while Margaret acknowledges that “men rule the world,” (at least they do in the world of women married to career military men) she chafes against that. Of course, there’s a time when the men deploy. …

While a sense of impending tragedy gathers like a storm cloud on the horizon, the plot concentrates on the relationship between Cassandra and Margaret and their relationship to the local population. Cassandra follows the embassy guidelines to a fault, but she also holds any of the local help at arm’s length, occasionally dipping into abuse if she feels that they are slacking or becoming too familiar. Meanwhile Margaret “a force of minor collisions, setting off small earthquakes, never thinking about what her tremors might rearrange or crack,” stops at all the street vendors buying “things she doesn’t need.” When “fallen women and widows” pass from car window to car window begging, Margaret throws money:

Margaret in her breathable, no -wrinkle cotton-blouses, her three-hundred-dollar car seat in the back. Can’t she feel how much they hate her?

Margaret doesn’t recognize that the line between us and them is real. She’s infected with our great American hubris of assuming that deep down every single person wants the same thing: autonomy, freedom, democracy, independence. I try to tell Margaret things here are different, that our American tolerance, even veneration, of the rule-breaker is not shared in a place where the literal translation of the name of the faith, Islam, means ‘submission.’

Margaret is open to friendships with Jordanians, but is this appropriate? Does her attitude, openness and naivete make her a better human being or a foolish one?

Years ago, I worked with someone who firmly believed that while most of us are too ‘small’ and insignificant to make a difference in the world, we can bring about change in our little corner of the planet. That question of making a difference in the world stayed with me throughout the book as I read about Margaret. Cassandra knows that no good can come from Margaret’s attempts to battle the culture–an idea Edith Wharton also explored in The Age of Innocence. Here’s an example: Margaret feeds the stray cats in her neighbourhood, but ultimately does she help the cats? To twist that question even further, what would ignoring the cats say about what kind of human being Margaret is? Ultimately does Margaret make her ‘corner’ a better place? We know we should adjust our behaviour depending on where we live, should we also adjust our morality according to location? Those questions stay with me after turning the last page.

Unusual, insightful and thoughtful, The Confusion of Languages will make my best-of year list.
review copy

In January 1998, my husband and I landed in Frankfurt, Germany. We had been married for seven months and had left the United States with very little in the way of life experience. My husband was a relatively new Second Lieutenant in the Army, and this was our very first military assignment.

During the three years we lived there, we tried to see as much as possible but often had to postpone or cancel trips because of a surprise military exercise or other emergency action. While my husband did not have to go anywhere that put his life on the line, he was constantly on call and had to be able to change his plans at an instant. He worked long hours and frequently received calls in the middle of the night that required attention. For him, this was no lark. It was real life, and the Army let him know it.

While my husband tried to help me with the transition to life as a military spouse, he often was not around to do so. Most of the military spouses in my husband's unit with whom I was supposed to rely on for support were stay-at-home mothers with surprisingly large broods of kids. I was more anxious about finding a job (I did) than having kids. They all lived in military house. Life on the installation meant American television, ready access to the commissary, American neighbors in the same situation, even access to familiar American restaurants that mean so much after a while. We chose to live away from the military installation and lived in a small village about twenty minutes away. Our landlord was German, our neighbors were as well. Very few spoke English, and even fewer knew what to expect from Americans living on their very quiet street. German grocery stores close early and are not open on Sundays. Their restaurants are full of great food, but it is not American food. As for German TV, it is an experience and something American TV will never become. 

I mention this only because my experiences had a tremendous impact on how I read and feel about Siobhan Fallon's debut novel. For me, it was a punch to the gut as I remembered the conflicting emotions of wanting to experience as much as possible but also stay within the familiarity life in the military installations brought. I was Cassie and I was Margaret at different times in those three years. I understand Cassie's caution as well as Margaret's feelings of abandonment at the thought of a deployment because I lived them. I know what it is to being hyper-vigilant, about not "looking like an American" when out and about, and being constantly aware of the news in case there was ever a threat that forced me to stay home. I also know what it means to chafe at the restrictions and impositions the military established during our tenure there, not wanting to listen to others with more experience. I understand the impact of having almost no support network to help you navigate this new world or even to keep you busy when the soldiers were gone. It is not a scenario readily explainable to those who cannot fathom packing up all of your belongings and moving to a different country, reliant solely on your significant other, a very small group of friends if you are lucky, and the little support the American consulate and other US military installations can provide.

Living abroad, regardless of where you live, is all about remaining respectful of the local culture and traditions and not drawing attention to yourself. It is also about the importance of friendships and having a strong support network. Life as an expat is not easy, and it takes its toll on you mentally.  I cannot adequately express just how well Ms. Fallon excels at doing this. Her descriptions evoke the very same emotions that beset me during my time in Germany, and I found my sympathies switching between the two women, depending on my experiences living abroad and how they matched their own. What eventually happens is much more tragic than anything I experienced and yet it becomes all too easy to see not only how it could happen but sympathize with Margaret as she makes poor decision after poor decision.

The Confusion of Languages is a brilliant title choice as it depicts so much. From simple, obvious things like not knowing the native language to bigger things like having to learn military speak, when you lose the capacity to communicate easily and freely, you lose some freedoms. The chance of misunderstandings increases, and some small dispute quickly escalates into something much worse. We see this time and again in all aspects of life, but it takes on greater meaning when you are away from home.

Through Cassie and Margaret's very different approaches to living abroad though, Ms. Fallon captures the various attitudes and experiences that come with living at the mercy of the military in a foreign land and makes you experience them. For readers like me, it is like being back there all over again. For those readers who have not experienced such living, it is an eye-opener to everything we take for granted living in the United States but which disappears upon leaving its borders.

Fallon's You Know When The Men Are Gone, a collection of short stories about the people of Fort Hood (my review), was one of my favorite books of 2014. In her first novel, Fallon returns to what she knows, the people who live on the periphery of the action. In The Confusion of Languages, she draws on her own experiences as an Army wife in Jordan to craft her tale of friendship, marriage, and communication.

Fallon has managed to combine the intimate details of a friendship and two marriages with the tension of a mystery that builds throughout the book. This is a book about the little things we do and say but it's also about the things that are left unsaid and how those things can tear life apart.

Back and forth we go, between the minutes ticking off as Cassie waits for Margaret to return and the pages of Margaret's journal which Cassie begins reading while she impatiently waits. Back and forth we go, too, between the way we feel about these two women.

Cassie has longed to be a mother for so long that when she gets the opportunity to mentor Margaret, she treats her much more as a child than a friend. But is she right to insist that Margaret follow the rules just as she has, to stay in the safe places? Or, by following the U. S. Embassy's guidelines, are Americans living in Jordan missing out on the opportunity to connect with the people of Jordan, to create a greater bond? There is no easy answer, as it turns out.

The Confusion of Languages is not just about the confusion when people of two different languages try to communicate. It's the confusion caused by two cultures meeting and the confusion between people of very different backgrounds trying to build a relationship.

The Confusion of Languages by Siobhan Fallon (debut)
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Release Date: June 27, 2017
Length: 336 pages

Single Sentence Summary: Military wives Cassie Hugo and Margaret Brickshaw battle cultural differences, and each other, while living in Jordan during the 2011 Arab Spring.

Primary Characters: Cassie Hugo – Cassie is an experienced military wife. She’s lived with her husband in Jordan for two years and knows all the rules. Margaret Brickshaw – Newlywed Margaret arrives in Jordan with her husband, baby and a strong desire to know the land and the people of this new country.

From the Publisher: “….when a fender-bender sends Margaret to the local police station, Cassie reluctantly agrees to watch Margaret’s toddler son. But as the hours pass, Cassie’s boredom and frustration turn to fear: Why isn’t Margaret answering her phone, and why is it taking so long to sort out a routine accident?”

Review: Immediately prior to reading The Confusion of Languages, I had read Daring to Drive by Manal al-Sharif, and I’m so glad it worked out that way. Al-Sharif’s arrest for driving happened in May of 2011, the same month in which this book is set, and also the year of the Arab Spring. Both books referenced events happening in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and more. Daring to Drive provided a lot of context for that era, especially for the expectations placed on women in the Muslim world.

But, expectations can be a difficult thing. Cassie, acting as a mentor to the newly arrived Margaret, expected her to be a willing student. Margaret expected to enjoy her first time in a new country. She wanted to explore the land.

“I told myself that Margaret was ignorant of all these rules, but she’d learn them the way we all do, over time, and of course with my help. I would guide her. Obviously, I had a lot of work to do. I hadn’t yet realized Margaret would cling to her ignorance. Delight in it.”

The women were immediately at odds with each other, and yet, they struggled on. Each had stories they hid from the other, but as a tenuous friendship took hold some secrets were told.

Siobhan Fallon set The Confusion of Languages in a single day. A day in which Margaret has gone missing leaving Cassie to care for her young son. As Cassie waits her anxiety rises. When she finds Margaret’s journal, the secrets Margaret hid are far worse than she’d imagined. Fallon used Margaret’s journal to move the story. It enabled us to know both women: through Margaret’s writing, and the memories each entry provoked in Cassie. The play between the two was perfectly done, as was the setting. The Embassy/expat community in Jordan was so well developed, I felt like I could step right into it. Fallon clearly knows the culture about which she writes. (She was living in Jordan in 2011.)

Overall, the story was a little slow to build, though I wasn’t much bothered by it. What did bother me was Margaret. She was supposed to be young and naïve, but for me that went too far. It was hard for me to buy into some of the choices Margaret made while in Jordan. I have a difficult time imagining a military wife (even a new wife) not being able or willing to see the consequences of her own actions. This was key to the story, but I wish somehow it could have been less. I still very much enjoyed The Confusion of Languages for its focus on both female friendship and culture. Grade: B

Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher (via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review.

On Siobhan Fallon’s CONFUSION OF LANGUAGES

"Every embassy residence is equipped with a panic room with bulletproof door. If you feel you are in danger, lock yourself in your panic room and radio the embassy immediately." These are the rules. However, no sanctuary exists for the vulnerable emotional situations that Cassie and Margaret encounter as ex-pat military wives living in Amman, Jordan.

Cassie, wearied by years of infertility, is assigned as a wife-welcome-wagon to newly arrived Margaret and her young child, Mather. The men are sent away on duty, and the wives are left to make do on their own terms, so long as they follow cultural norms and security precautions. The political situation is edgy, especially on the edge of "Arab Spring" when Egyptian President Mubarak resigns. One day, Margaret wanders off-bounds leaving Cassie to tend Mather, aka “the little beast” and peruse Margaret’s secret journal.

Confusion of Languages is at once a braided domestic drama (Cassie and Crick and Margaret and Dan), a glimpse behind the scenes of embassy life in contemporary Jordan, and a revelation about the secret yearnings of military wives, who keep on keeping on while their men are off settling scores and tallying wars.

This is a nail-biting, plot-twisty, character-driven thriller that draws the reader into an off-limits world of the Near East, written with vivid details of place and culture.