Merry

Amazir was one of my 99p Kindle downloads; I stocked up in the Amazon sale to make sure I had enough books to keep my mind occupied over the Summer. It was one of a long list of books this year that I’ve taken a chance on and been delighted by. I have a vague vetting system (nothing below 3 stars on Amazon and check Goodreads) and that seems to help. Kindle is harder than real book, where I mostly go by the covers I like!

Amazir is the story, initially, of two well educated men in the late 1930’s and is set in Africa, starting off in Morocco. It’s a coming of age story, a romance, a war story and an insight into a different time and a different life. It’s also a male point of view and I always find well written stories from a male perspective interesting. The story dips between society living of the French, rebel life, mystery and intrigue, love, the life of mountain villages and the brutality of not only the Nazi regime but also of the warring factions within France.

I found it fascinating and compelling; I could hardly put it down. Some of the criticisms on Amazon are that it is wordy and overwritten, but I really don’t agree. It captured the flavour of a bygone time and the way stories of that era are told perfectly. I was reminded very much of Ice Cold in Alex and the description of a man settling into North Africa life, something my dad has been doing this last year, was as touching as it was interesting.

Highly recommend it.