Product Description

Two little girls are taken by their mother to Morocco on a 1960s pilgrimage of self-discovery. For Mum it is not just an escape from the grinding conventions of English life but a quest for personal fulfilment; her children, however, seek something more solid and stable amidst the shifting desert sands. ‘Just open the book and begin, and instantly you will be first of all charmed, then intrigued and finally moved by this fascinating story’ Spectator.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #84514 in Books
• Published on: 2001-06-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

About the Author
Esther Freud was born in 1963 and lives in London. Her previous novels are Hideous Kinky, which was made into a film starring Kate Winslet, Peerless Flats, Gaglow and The Wild.

Customer Reviews

A delightful, light read, showing the ingenuity of children.
Hideous Kinky is a delightful story of a young hippy mother travelling to Morocco with two young children to find herself. She seems oblivious to their needs, considering her search for enlightment and personal freedom of paramont importance.

Through the eyes of the youngest daughter we see, feel and smell Morocco. The children are caught up with the day to day, searching for food, mixing with street children and market people, all of whom are desparately trying to stay alive in a very harsh climate and society.

Throughout their adventures these children find fun, entertainment and magic and do not see the dangers their mother has placed them in. They are delightfully open and easy with the people they meet.

As time goes by however the children begin to desire a return to security, family and normality. Seeing routine - school, homework, and of course some of the pleasures of the West, Christmas presents and ice cream.

Perfect reading for the tube, bus or before falling asleep.

A pleasant story, simple and uncomplicated. A complete contrast to the morbid, graphic, black humour of Angela's Ashes, with it's gritty accuracy and depressing reality of a Catholic, Irish upbringing.

This is a story of a middle class mother and her children, playing at adventure, with the ultimate security of a middle class family to turn to at times of difficulties.

Is it wrong to call this my bible?
Okay...I'm not sure I can put into words what an incredible impact this book has made on me. I first read it when I was 13 (my mother suggested it) and now, years later, it's still my favourite book. I take it on holiday with me no matter where I go because I know I'm going to want to read it. It never gets boring! Please, please read this book if you love atmospheric literature or just read it! It's a spectacular novel, it's become a part of my life. The little girls are so life like, and their relationship is so typical of young sisters. Esther Freud really has a knack for capturing the agonies of being a young child (so many people assume there aren't any!) and the sights and smells of Morocco. I am this book's #1 fan!

Unconvincing
I really liked the *idea* of this book, having bought it in a charity shop out of curiosity when I saw on the cover that it had been nominated for some fiction prize or other.

I had high expectations, but found the book very light, even airy. Nothing wrong with this I suppose, though it isn't enough for me.

My main problem with the book was that I did not feel convinced for a second that the narrator was a young child. Perhaps if the narrator had been around nine, I could have accepted that, but not so young a child as we were supposed to believe. It was certainly an adult's writing and adults' vocabulary, with the occasional injection of childlike sensibility, when the author remembered.

The sense of place was a little stronger, and I associate the book now with rich colour, but little else stayed with me, certainly not characters.

I read this book quickly, and was relieved to finish it, wishing that a much better writer had tackled the same story.