Siobhan Fallon has written movingly before of the lives of military wives in "You Know When the Men Are Gone," a collection of short stories. This book, her first novel, also deals with military families … this time attached to the US Embassy in Amman Jordan during the Arab Spring of 2011.

Margaret, her husband, Crick, and infant son, Mather, are new arrivals to Jordan. Cassie, a more experienced embassy spouse, is her designated buddy orienting Margaret to the many “rules” for Americans living in a Muslim country. Margaret—whether naively or deliberately—balks at the guidelines, ignores the cultural differences and attempts to build bridges to the Jordanians.

Cassie, who struggles with infertility, soon grows jealous of Margaret who seems to have it all—good looks, a choice apartment, and most of all, a baby.

One afternoon, during their husbands’ deployment, Margaret leaves her baby with Cassie while she goes to the police station to settle a traffic fine. She doesn’t return when expected; her cell goes unanswered. Looking around the apartment for clues as to her friend’s whereabouts, Cassie finds Margaret’s journal and begins reading.

The book alternates between real time events told from Cassie’s perspective and entries from Margaret’s journal. Along the way, Cassie discovers just what the woman she considered a friend really thinks of her. Tension builds as slowly Cassie pieces together what happened to Margaret.

I have a close friend who was an embassy spouse. She and her family came to live with me in the months following a coup in their assigned country. Based on what I learned and observed from my friend, Fallon’s depiction of the circumscribed lives of embassy staffers rings true.

This novel offers both suspense and character development, while at the same time providing a window into the complicated world of military and embassy families. Well worth reading!

Anne was happy to feature this book in her 2017 Summer Reading Guide!

I thought this was just okay. The writing was adequate but not remarkable. I enjoyed the nuanced characterization and the depiction of life in Jordan. The author did a good job of describing life in a foreign country and how the culture played into the story without bogging it down in unnecessary details. Ultimately though, the plot felt a little underwhelming and predictable. I was ready to be finished with it by the halfway point. The ending felt hasty with lots of summarizing.

Margaret and Cassie are military wives, living in Jordan with their husbands who work in the American Embassy. Cassie has been there the longest, so she takes Margaret under her wing, trying to teach her the customs of the country as well as the do’s and don’ts. Cassie is a ‘by the book’ woman and Margaret likes to go against the grain.

Margaret craves friendship and her kindness to others has her finding herself in some awkward situations. At the beginning, it seemed she just didn’t care about the customs of the country, but as the story continued, I believe that she truly did care, she just wanted to fit in so desperately and wanted to be liked by everyone, but her somewhat sheltered life and lack of common sense proved to be her downfall. She was very insecure with her marriage which also didn’t help matters much.

Cassie was the mother hen figure and really wanted to help Margaret out, but I don’t believe she knew how to go about it. Margaret seemed not to take her advice, so I think she just started to give up on her and not care. Her marriage is not going so well either because she feels her life is incomplete because she can’t have children.

After a fender bender, Margaret leaves her adorable son with Cassie while she goes to the police station to take care of business. When Margaret does not come home after a while, Cassie starts to read Margaret’s journal, and she begins to understand her a little more. What the reader begins to realize is that not only is there a lack of communication in their foreign home, there is also a lack of communication amongst themselves which in the end will end dreadfully.

It took me a little bit to really get into the story, but when I finally connected with it, I found it impossible to put down. Told in dual point of views and part of the story in a diary format, this tragic story is beautifully written with vivid descriptions and spectacular imagery, providing the reader with a captivating reading experience that is truly unique. Fallon has crafted a meticulously researched and haunting novel that is both riveting and fascinating that will surely keep readers enthralled throughout.

This was a gripping, emotional book about two young women who follow their military husbands to the embassy in Jordan.
The other perfectly captures what it is like to live in a Muslim country. Having spent many years overseas, I could relate very well to the strange life of an American overseas. Cassie is the rule follower, the expert that has been living in Jordan for quite a while. Margaret is newly arrived. She is more a free-spirit and disregards the cultural rules and regulations set out by the embassy. Cassie takes Margaret under her wing, but cannot accept Margaret's flighty whims. These two women would most likely have never been friends in the United States, but in Jordan they share the similarity of being American wives and so that is enough to form a friendship in this part of the world where they are outsiders.
The story begins on the day that Margaret disappears on her way to the police station. Cassie stays behind to watch her young son and begins to read Margaret's journals. I loved this book. It was riveting and really a book about the psyche of women...their jealousies, what makes them feel fulfilled, their insecurities... I received a complimentary ebook from the publisher.

The Confusion of Languages was a completely surprising book, from the blurb it could have either been fantastic or terrible. Luckily for me it was the first one.
Cassie and Margaret are two American expats living in Jordan a few months after the Arab Spring. Their friendship is one of circumstance, two opposites thrown together in the face of absent husbands.
When Margaret heads to the local police station to report a car accident Cassie stays behind to look after Margaret’s son, Mather. After a few hours Margaret hasn’t returns and Cassie starts to wonder where she has really gone and how much her actions have contributed to her disappearance.
Siobhan Fallon paints a tale of jealousy, betrayal, clashing cultures and kindness.
Cassie sees herself as a good friend but in reality she comes across as a judgemental and interfering busy-body.
At the start of the book Cassie is pleased with herself for coaxing Margaret out of the house with her as things between them have been strained recently and it has been weeks since she has been invited into Margaret’s apartment.
Cassie’s husband Dan had signed them up to ‘sponsor’ the Brickshaws when they first arrived in Jordan. Cassie was furious when she found out because she knew the Brickshaws had a baby and she and Dan were currently struggling with fertility problems.
Whilst setting up their apartment for them her jealousy deepened when she realised that their apartment was much bigger and nicer than hers all because they were able to have children and she wasn’t.
When Cassie meets the Brickshaws she thinks Crick is charming and bit of a flirt and that Margaret is a bit flaky and like someone doing a poor impersonation of Marilyn Monroe.
Cassie becomes annoyed with Dan for smirking when she talks of home cooking when she hasn’t cooked anything since they arrived in Jordan but as she argues that is one of the main benefits in American wives following their husbands to Jordan – so they can have household help.
Cassie thinks Margaret is a sucker because she cannot pass a street vendor or the like without purchasing something, and generally overpaying.
She also becomes frustrated by her lack of adherence to the social norms and rules of the country they are living in, that the way she acts is often improper and could be considered offensive.
She is also jealous of Margaret’s relationship with her husband, Crick and her own husband Dan. She feels that Dan blames her for their inability to have a child. It has caused problems in their sex life but also in their daily intimacy.
Margaret, for her part, is pleased Cassie has decided to take her under her wing. She is shy and socially awkward. Un-used to social encounters because she spent the years before she met Crick looking after her sick mother.
Margaret likes to spend time looking words up in dictionary, thinking of their meanings. This is something she spent time doing in school. It gives her an unusual way of speaking. It makes for pleasant reading though, I loved reading all the different meanings of words and particularly enjoyed it when she started her Arabic lessons as I love anything to do with languages.
Margaret has an intense need to please people and for them to like her and deep down she knows this is why she spends so much money buying things from street vendors.
Margaret worries that Crick doesn’t really love her and that he only married her because she was pregnant with their son Mather.
She wants to explore the real Jordan, not the sterile version shown to her by but will her lack of adherence to societal rules get her into trouble?
One of my favourite things in The Confusion of Languages were the vivid descriptions of life in Jordan for the locals, their societal norms and values and the culture in general.
I will definitely keep an eye out for Siobhan Fallon’s books in the future if this is the standard she sets.

Stunningly good - I loved it! The Confusion of Languages is a modern day tragedy set in Jordan. This is the story of two women, wives of Embassy employees / soldiers, during the Arab Spring. Cassie has been there for a couple of years, knows the rules and follows them. Margaret, newly arrived, wants to see everything there is to see in Jordan, and disregards the rules the Embassy set out for living in a Middle Eastern country, and the habits and beliefs of the locals as well. She is quite sure that smiling, being friendly, showing the locals the way a true American acts, will open doors everywhere. Both women have secrets that come to light as the story progresses. Neither woman is 100% admirable, or 100% unlikeable - just as in real life, they both have good and bad qualities, and their petty jealousies add to the tension of the story and create unexpected problems. I loved the glimpse into the life of an expat, and the constraints, dangers and privileges they share. Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC - this is just a fascinating story. Highly recommend! 4.5 stars!

I certainly read the book quickly trying to get to the conclusion, because it gives the reader a feeling of impending disaster. While liking characters is not important to me, it will be a real problem with readers who like to connect to a character. The 4 main characters were not people I would like to know in any circumstances. The book was quite predictable. No one in my book club would like this book, and I do not think it would be widely circulated in our library.

So the past few days I went on a surprising journey to the Middle East, over the period of an Arab Spring. With the book The Confusion Of Languages, I don't think I have read about Jordan so everything was new to me. First, of I should say how easy of a read this is, it is not packed with ever long descriptions or filled with unknown or difficult languages. Because the story is based on two American families living in the U.S Embassy in Jordan. It's there story we hear.

I enjoyed both of the main characters, Cassie and Margaret. We hear things from both of their points of view. Which made it very interesting. I didn't have a side. I couldn't possibly pick. You will see what I mean when you read it.

It was rather intriguing to learn about the different culture differences. What you should and should not wear, say and even where to look. This is not a story of war either, of course, it's there in the background. But it's core is about the women and their lives.

With a surprising twist at the end, the book kept me engrossed and entertained from start to finish.

I read the book on kindle, but I googled the cover and it's beautiful. It stands out and it's very pretty. The title fits perfectly with the story.

Thanks to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy. I enjoyed this novel about two American service wives, one seasoned and one naive, in Jordan. I didn't find either main character to be particularly likable although for entirely different reasons. The best way I could summarize the theme: a book about (maybe) good intentions with catastrophic unintended consequences.

Though I felt like the plot of this was one big buildup to nothing, this was a relatively solid book with some interesting details.

I've got to admit, one of the biggest reasons I picked up this book was because it was set in Jordan and I was curious to see how the author would handle this. I felt like the representation of Arab hospitality was well done, but the way that certain scenes went was honestly quite disappointing because ultimately all interactions kind of left me with a sickened taste and if I hadn't experienced this hospitality first hand I'd have some really negative attitudes. That was hugely disappointing.

I'm not Cassie's biggest fan. I think I'm supposed to feel more sympathetic towards her, but she doesn't try very hard for much. There are many other women that she could have befriended if she was lonely. Maybe I can't relate to her because her biggest desire is to have kids, but she really annoyed me with her self-absorbed attitude and the way that she wanted to have everyone snugly wound around her finger.

Though the blurb made it seem as though Cassie and Margaret had arrived in Amman at the same time, Margaret comes much later, leaving Cassie to play tour guide. It seems that, from reading Margaret's diary, the two had little in common from day one. I related much more to Margaret, and though she's portrayed as silly and lighthearted yet manipulative, I felt as though she were at least honest.

The plot did not contain as much suspense as I thought it would, and I found the ultimate ending to be quite disappointing. Most of the suspense is solely due to the way that Cassie had built the entire scenario up in her head.

Considering the lack of books similar to it, this novel is solid, but I hope that a more engaging book with a similar premise is released in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is beautiful and tragic and will make you want to turn back to page one as soon as you finish it. With a chaotic backdrop such as Jordan at the onset of the Arab Spring what Siobhan Fallon delivers is simply a story of friendship between two career military wives. The friendship, though new, becomes complex very early on in the story but Fallon never makes the storyline feel rushed. In fact, she keeps the entire story so well paced that when the book reaches its climax it doesn't feel that she's trying to end the story. Her writing is also very fluid. I didn't find myself rereading passages or tripping up throughout the book but I also wouldn't say the writing was simple. If anything her writing complimented the heavy themes in the book by being easy to understand.

Overall this is a very solid 5 star book. I think it's one that will be on a lot of people's to-read list.

I was expecting a lot more from this book. Maybe the cover threw me off, as it suggested a seriousness that the lady drama in the story just didn't add up to. I felt like the organization of the book in going back in time via Margaret's journal entries was very farfetched and forced. I generally really like historical fiction and was excited as this sounded like such an interesting setting for a story, but for me it fell very flat. It is much more chic lit than rich historical fiction.