Beautifully told, switching between Casablanca in the present and in the 1940's. The story is of two different families trying to build a new life but for very different reasons.
Zoe, a modern day expat follows her husband and his career to Casablanca to try to make their marriage work. Struggling to settle and build a new life she discovers the journal of Josie, a wealthy refugee who has fled Paris due to the Jewish roots of her mother.
Zoe is engrossed in Josie's journal and, as she reads it she (and us) discover what life was like in Casablanca for the refugees, both wealthy and poor. As Zoe tries to find out more about Casablanca during this time she also finds out more about the current refugee situation and is drawn to help.
The unfolding stories of both Zoe and Josie take a surprising twist at the end.
Fiona Valpy's description of the sounds, sights and smells of Casablanca pull you in to the story.
A really good read.

I was given a copy of The Story Teller of Casablanca by NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

This book is set in a dual timeline. We read the story of 12 year old Jose that has fled Nazi occupation in France to Casablanca while they wait to get permission to go to the United States. The other story is set seventy years later when Zoe moves to Casablanca with her husband and daughter. Zoe is struggling with her marriage, her life as an expat in a foreign city and a personal tragedy that occurred before moving there. Both characters had lived in the same house. Zoe finds something that Jose left in the house that changes her perspective on everything. I highly recommend this book.

The Storyteller of Casablanca is dual timeline story set in Morroco.

In 1941 Josie, her older sister and her parents flee France, as they are Jewish and go to Morroco with a view to gettig passage on a ship to the US. While her father tries to arrange this, Josie makes friends and explores Casblanca itself. She keeps a journal or her life there under the floorboards
Josie's part of the book portrays the effect of Nazi Germany's presence in Africa aswell as in Europe.

The second time time was that of Zoe, in the present day. Her husband has landed a job in Casablanca and she stays at home caring for their baby. Zoe's marriage is going through a rough patch and she is lonely and depressed.
She discovers Josie's journal under a loose floorboard and sets off to trace what happened to Josie and her family.

Unlike the majority of WW2 historical fiction, this book is set in Morocco 1941. It was interesting to read about WW2 from a different viewpoint, in this case the many Jewish refugees that tried to escape via Africa.
The author captured the sights and smells of Casablanca wonderfully. She also captures the fear of teying to escape as the Germans grew ever closer well. I found Josie's story during this time the more captivating of the two . I felt it was the better told story of the two. I enjoyed it but it didn't blow me away

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in return for an honest read

I requested this book as the title and description intrigued me. It was a more gentle story than I was expecting, but it was very enjoyable still. I particularly liked the way that the reader gets a dual perspective of Casablanca. My favourite parts were the chapters where we got to know what it was like in wartime and what people did to survive as well as the innocent teenage narrative. I found the modern day characters to be slightly annoying, but I think this was intentional!

Unfortunately, I put this book off for a little bit because I wasn't feeling a historical fiction. I finally decided it was time to give it a try and am I surprised! This book truly surprised me. I have read several novels that took place during WWII, but it was surprisingly informative to approach it from another continent. I loved how both timelines were interwoven. I was never confused and the different time periods were seamlessly integrated. I was invested in both stories, although Josie's held my attention a little more due to high stakes nature of her life. Josie was an inspirational character and so terribly brave. I was also intrigued by the specifics of Zoe's life and the small crumbs I thought were pointing me in one direction. I was truly surprised by the twist in the story and never saw it coming! Seriously, my mind was blown. I did think this book explained things a lot, sometimes in more detail than I would have wanted, but I really didn't mind.

It was truly a beautiful story and I would highly recommend it!

What an intriguing peek into the history of Morocco and the role it played in WWII. Josie and her story is being told by Zoe so many years later through the discovery of Josie’s diary. I love the way Fiona Valpy intertwined the past with the future. This was not just a fictional story but a history lesson in the atrocities that occurred everywhere the German Nazis reached. I highly recommend this book and thank #netgalley and the publisher for my requested copy of the ARC.

In 2010, expat Zoe arrives in Casablanca, having moved for her husband’s job. She is struggling with being in a new city, watching her marriage fall apart and caring for her baby daughter. She discovers a diary from the 1940s in the attic that becomes her lifeline and provides us with our second narrator, Josie. Josie is a twelve year old girl who has fled France after its fall to the Nazis and is awaiting passage to America with her family. Alternating between Zoe’s attempts to make her new surroundings feel a little more like home and Josie’s coming to terms with the ever changing world around her, the narrative provides a unique picture of what Casablanca was like both during WWII and the present from two women with literally the exact same view of the world outside their window.

Having read many books that take place during WWII, I appreciated getting a perspective that I haven’t really seen before: that of refugees in North Africa during that time. The book was well written and the descriptions of both time and place were vivid. The ending really made the book for me, but with that said, it almost felt a little too rushed after all of the build up to get there. Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC.

I love Fiona Valpy's writing, and I loved her book The Dressmaker's Gift. That is what made me pick up this book. Unfortunately, this one was a miss for me simply because I didn't connect with either of the main characters. That might have just been my personal preference, or perhaps just bad timing. I will definitely keep reading her books though!

As a lover of historical fiction and also having read a few of Fiona Valpy’s books I knew that this was going to be an enjoyable read.
Set in a dual time line the narratives flow well and the time periods are so vivid for the reader.
It is such a well written and researched book and I learned a lots about an area of the world I am not that familiar with.
Another enjoyable read from this author and if you love historical fiction I am sure this will be a lovely journey through the pages for you.
Thanks the the author and publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for an honest review
Would recommend.

First read from this author and won’t be the last. Great read very different to my usual reads. Throughly enjoyed and would certainly recommend to others

The Storyteller of Casablanca by Fiona Valpy is an amazing book. The book takes place in Casablanca in two different time periods. In 2010, Zoe, her husband and daughter have moved from England to Casablanca for her husband's job. As an expat, she meets other expats as she learns about her new home and city. She finds a journal and a box within the floor boards and finds that in 1941 Josie and her family had fled Nazi-occupied France to Casablanca in order to secure passage to the United States. Josie and her family lived in the same house that Zoe and her family were living in. Zoe becomes engrossed in Josie's telling of her life in Casablanca and the challenges they faced. Josie is 13 when the journal begins so her view of the world is hopeful and optimistic, but she is also astute to what is going on around her even when she is not just annoyed by her older sister, Annette, Josie meets a local storyteller that helps her cope with the world she is living in. Zoe is fascinated by the journal, and along with the reader, wants to find out what happened in Josie's life. Fiona Valpy did an excellent job of perfectly capturing the voice of a 13 year old. I love to read beautiful stories that capture my heart and the storytelling in this book is magical and fascinating and reminds of why I love to read. I thoroughly enjoyed The Storyteller of Casablanca.

Thank you to Net Galley and Amazon UK for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Another good read from Fiona Valpy. I enjoyed this from the beginning and the dual timeliness works well, set 70 years apart. Zoe has moved with her husband to Casablanca and finds the journal written by Josie during the 2nd World War. Josie arrives with her parents and elder sister as refugees from France hoping to reach America, via Portugal. The story explores the feelings of loss, poverty, sickness, friendship and life in an unfamiliar world. It has been well written and draws you in from the start. I was eager to finish it and understand how these 2 women could be linked. I was very surprised by the story of Grace, who puzzled me throughout the story. I won't spoil this by telling you more.
It has also given me an insight into another place where refugees went to when the Germans invaded France. I knew nothing about Casablanca.
I can recommend this book and look forward to Fiona Valpy's next book.

The Storyteller of Casablanca is an evocative historical novel by Fiona Valpy.
In short, it’s a dual timeline narrative which follows two women connected by a journal found in a house in Casablanca 70 years apart.
It’s an interesting perspective, both women adjusting to life in very different Casablanca’s! I enjoyed the story, it was both heartbreaking yet hopeful and all played out in the vivid backdrop of Casablanca, however, for me it was a rather slow start.
Big thanks to Fiona Valpy, Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for this eARC which I chose to read in return for my honest review.

★★★★ 3.5 stars (rounded up)

I must admit, I was intrigued by the premise for this book particularly as it was dual timelined which is of course one of my favourite forms of historical fiction. Although I have a couple of Fiona Valpy's books, THE STORYTELLER OF CASABLANCA is actually the first one I've read. It was heartbreaking and compelling at the same time although I did feel it drag a little at times, mostly through Zoe's narrative. I was, however, immediately captivated by Josie's story through her journal and admittedly it was that that kept me turning the pages till the end.

Casablanca, Morocco 1941: When 12 year old (nearly 13) Josie Duval and her family arrive in Casablanca, having fled France when the Germans invade Paris, it is but a stepping stone to their new future that awaits them across the Atlantic in America. For Josie and her sister Annette are half-Jewish as their maman DelphineGuillaume Duval arranges a passage to Casablanca where they will apply for American visas and await their transit to Portugal which would then see their passage to America.

However, Casablanca during wartime wasn't an easy place to live. Upon arrival, the Duvals are taken to a refugee camp before they move to a house in which they will live whilst awaiting their passage to America. Almost at once, Josie falls in love with everything about Casablanca - the sights, the sounds, the food, the people and of course its warm climate. She makes friends with their housekeeper's daughter Nina who is the same age as Josie and the two spend almost every moment together, even visiting the library and pouring over Dorothy L. Sayers books as well as those of Agatha Christie which the two girls devour with relish. After some time, Josie begins to feel so settled there that she begins to dread the moment her papa secures their visas and necessary paperwork to see them across the Atlantic. Maybe it was just as well the whole process was slow and tedious that it seemed like that day would never arrive.

And then strange things begin to occur. Josie began to notice her papa going to many meetings and the stealthy slip of a brown envelope passed to the tutor they hired to maintain her schooling. A couple of family trips seemed a bit out of the ordinary - one to the mountains and the other along the Moroccan coast - whilst they happened across a nasty little man that made Josie especially feel uncomfortable.

Meanwhile, her 17 year old sister Annette had been mourning the fact they had to leave her boyfriend Eduardo and would often break out in floods of tears...in between finding ways to torment her little sister. And then she met Olivier and suddenly Eduardo was forgotten which Josie was at pains to remind her.

But the war was getting closer to Casablanca and time was running out for the Duvals to escape to America before it was too late...

Casablanca 2010: Seventy years later, Zoe and her husband Tom arrive in the Moroccan town for a fresh start. Tom has secured a job in the ports there (though I'm not exactly sure what he did as that was never really outlined) while Zoe struggled to find a way to fill her time in the sprawling and somewhat empty house. Except that she had Grace, her beautiful little daughter. It's clear from the outset that Zoe and Tom's marriage is floundering and neither of them are doing much to find their way back to each other. They are like ships that pass in the night as Tom wakes before Zoe to go for an early morning run, comes home long enough to shower and change before rushing off to work where he often stays late, stopping off for a drink or three afterwards only to return home to a cold dinner and an annoyed wife. But what happened to them to rip their world apart?

Although she and Tom appear to be drifting further and further apart, Zoe meets some other British ex-pat wives who make her feel extremely welcome. Despite her fear of social situations and outings, she meets Kate and May for lunch regularly - the women bonding over Zoe's desire to begin a quilt she wishes to sew by hand as a labour of love.

It's the wee hours of one morning that Josie creeps upstairs to Grace's attic room to watch her daughter sleep that she stumbles over the creaking board under the rug again. She pulls the rug up and attempts to flatten the floorboard but it appears to be buckled and loose. She pulls it up to reveal a leather-bound notebook and small sandalwood box with a pearl lid. She pulls out the items - a Star of David necklace, a scrap of faded blue paper, a feather and a piece of green sea glass - and ponders the significance of these things that were once somebody's treasures. Then she opens the notebook. It's a diary...written by a 12 year old girl called Josiana Duval in the year 1941.

Curled up next to Grace who sleeps soundly on the bed, Zoe steps back in time to a different Casablanca during wartime and begins to see the town through Josie's eyes. It's through Josie that Zoe feels a deep connection to the place and she becomes fascinated with her story and the plight which she and her family had faced. As Zoe is swept up in Josie's story wanting to find out what happened to the family and if they made it to America, Josie's story becomes entwined with her own - tying them together through hope, friendship and grief...but above all, the Moroccan culture of storytelling and dream-sellers welded deep in history.

THE STORYTELLER OF CASABLANCA is indeed a captivating story that will have you absorbed from the beginning. However, the story does dip a little particularly through Zoe's narrative as it was difficult to connect with her. All we seemed to know about her was that she and her husband moved to Casablanca, their marriage was floundering (though we don't know why...yet) and she is obsessed with washing and rewashing her hands to the point they bleed, are dry and scaly from the dermatitis. And yet she continues to do it as she continues to bite at the skin surrounding her nails. The reason for this becomes clear by the end but it did slow the pace somewhat at times. It was Josie's story that is the winner and it was Josie's story that kept me turning the pages...and in the end I'm glad I stuck it out because the ending was worth it.

The story of Casablanca during the war is one that is little known or told. My grandfather fought in North Africa during the war and was one of the rats of Tobruk. And while wartime novels mainly feature Britain or European countries such a Germany, France or Austria, Casablanca or any North African country features very little in wartime fiction. I certainly enjoyed it far more than a previous book set in the same place and it is interesting to note that a number of the characters mentioned and portrayed in the story were in fact real people who featured in the Resistance movement there at the time. Including the famous singer and actress Josephine Baker.

I didn't see the end of the story coming at all though when I think back on it, it makes perfect sense. It is a heartbreaking tale set in frightening and turbulent times that we could only imagine but it is a story that offers hope through adversity and grief.

Beautifully written, THE STORYTELLER OF CASABLANCA is an enchanting and moving tale of two women separated by time each with their own struggles, thus creating something of an interesting perspective that is woven together beautifully by the end.

If you like historical fiction, wartime fiction or dual timelines and you're looking for something a little different, you should definitely check this out.

I would like to thank #FionaValpy, #Netgalley and #LakeUnionPublishing for an ARC of #TheStorytellerOfCasablanca in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book as an ARC and this is my review. This story is set in Casablanca during 2010 with flashbacks to WWII. During that time, families from all over Europe were waiting for visas and other documents to travel by ship to America. They were living their lives as best they could, and some were working for the resistance. This book is so rich with the culture and ambience that is Casablanca. I loved it! The characters are unforgettable and the history is from the viewpoint of those who are waiting and hoping. I totally recommend this amazing story to readers who enjoy historical fiction with behind the scenes action and surprising twists.

Two women living at different times and facing challenging circumstances while living in Casablanca. This is a story of struggle, survival, new beginnings, and hope. This novel is about two female characters told in alternative perspectives, Josie Duval, a twelve-year old girl in 1941 who is forced to flee France with her family during World War II and relocate to Casablanca where they awaited paperwork to travel to Portugal and then ultimately America and Zoe Harris, who relocates with her husband Tom to Casablanca in 2010 with the hopes of a new beginning and saving their distant and failing marriage. Zoe Harris recently moved into their house in Casablanca and discovers beneath the floorboards a journal written by Josie Duval and a box of keepsakes. She begins reading and finds solace and understanding in Josie’s story and yearns to discover what happened to Josie and her family.

The stories are woven together and while they take place during different times and under different circumstances, they share common emotions and challenges and overlap in surprising ways. This is an emotional tale from each perspective and the characters are well-developed, relatable, and engaging. The reader is interested in both stories and in learning the history and faith of these women and their families. The author does an excellent job of presenting life in Casablanca, both during wartime and 2010 through her description of the scenery, culture, religion, food, and social issues that existed. Having read many World War II novels, this was an interesting perspective of life during wartimes in Casablanca and the issues faced by refugees both during wartime and present day. The author does a wonderful job of bringing the stories together in an interesting and heartbreaking way towards the end of the novel connecting the two stories.

This novel is captivating and was a quick and enjoyable read. Both stories were engaging and kept the readers attention. Often, readers favor one storyline over the other, however here the stories are equally satisfying filled with interest, intrigue, heartbreak, and hope. The reader is filled with suspense while they wait to discover the faith of Josie’s family and whether Zoe and Tom can overcome their struggles together, all the while hoping for the success of each of them. The ending is surprising and a nice touch of pulling the storylines together bringing closure.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Atmospheric and expressive describes this truly great story from author, Fiona Valpy. Josie and her family have fled from France to the relative safety of Casablanca. The year is 1941 and the Nazi occupation has forced many to make their way to Morocco to await their onward journey to America. As we begin to learn Josie’s story, the simultaneous storyline emerges of Zoe, a young wife, and mother who has moved to Casablanca in 2010. Zoe is struggling to cope with a marriage in which her husband feels distant, their relationship is strained and unhappy. Zoe has moved into the home that Josie lived in so many years before. She finds Josie’s diary and begins to learn more about the family that lived there. The characters are well-drawn, the surroundings so well written that you can easily see in your mind's eye what the author is describing. The two storylines, that of Josie in 1941 and Zoe in 2010, are equally compelling and engaging. They are woven together deftly with surprising interconnections. The twist at the end works, it’s unexpected but fitting. A thoroughly enjoyed read! Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

The story is a dual timeline is set seventy years apart. Set in Casablanca, Zoe's story is set in 2010 and Josie's in 1941. When Zoe finds twelve-year-old Josie's diary, she becomes preoccupied with her story. The two timelines are interwoven seamlessly as we learn of Zoe's marriage problems and Josie's family. This is a descriptively written story that I was quickly caught up in. The pace is steady with some wonderful characters. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

I fell in love with this book right from the beginning! I love story told in dual timelines so this peeked my interest! Highly highly recommend…

The story connects 2 women who live in the same house in Casablanca 70 years apart through a journal. The one reading the journal in 2010 is Zoe, and the one who wrote the journal in 1941 is Josie. Josie’s family were escaping the Nazi’s. Zoe moved with her husband escaping their old life. Both show us life in Morocco across 2 time periods, and show us the strength and resilience of women to overcome challenges and obstacles. At times, Josie sounded more mature than her 12-13 years. Otherwise, it’s an enjoyable read.