Featured image:  An aerial view of the cityscape Tangier, Morocco, surrounded by water | Photo by wirestockc on Envato

Our book of the month is set in Tangier, Morocco

by Carolyn Ray, Editor, JourneyWoman

Reviews on Tangerine, set in Tangier, Morocco

“The lying, the cunning, and the duplicity is so very mannered that it’s chilling. Rich in dread, the foreboding positively drips from every page.”  — Washington Post

“A dark tale of twisted love.” — NPR

“Promises to be one of the best debuts of the year. . . . Echoes of Gillian Flynn and Patricia Highsmith in this tightly wound, exotic story.” — Entertainment Weekly

“A slow-burning suspense novel about betrayal in the sun-drenched setting of 1950s Tangier. . . . It’s a page-turner.” — AARP Magazine

“Unbelievably tense, incredibly smart. . . . Mangan full-speeds up to her shocking finale, twisting the plot with reveals you never see coming. . . . [Her] writing is so accomplished, so full of surprises and beauty, that you’d swear she was a seasoned pro.” — San Francisco Chronicle

“If you liked The Talented Mr. Ripley, then you’re going to go wild for this taut thriller. . . . Absolutely delicious.” — Nylon Magazine

Book Club Discussion Questions

We may not get through all of these, but here are some thoughts to start our discussion!

1. Have you travelled to Tangier, or anywhere in Morocco? Did anything about the book’s setting feel familiar? Why, or why not?

2. What was your favourite passage in the book and why?

3. Lucy describes the smell of Africa, beckoning her from the shore (page 16). Have you ever felt that about a destination, that the very air is distinctive, and pulls you toward it?

4.  When Alice sees Lucy at her doorstep, she thinks of a quote from Shakespeare’s The Tempest: ‘the past is prologue’ – what do you think this meant to her?

5. In the first half of the book, did you find yourself more drawn to Lucy or to Alice? Why? Did that change as the book progressed?

6.  On pages 99-100, Lucy and Youssef/Joseph discuss the difference between tourists and travellers.  Do these two words mean different things to you?

7. Youssef says, “It is better to be in a flat than a hotel. Unless you are only staying for a few days, then a hotel is best.” (page 99). In these days of Airbnb and booking.com, it has become as easy to book an entire apartment as a room in a hotel. Which do you prefer, and why?

8.  John claims that Youssef is simply a scam artist. Do you agree? Have you ever fallen for – or narrowly escaped – a travel scam?

9. On page 144, Lucy describes how she feels a connection with history when she touches the stones of an entranceway, imagining the great writers and painters and musicians who had passed that way before.  Have you felt this on your travels?  Where have you felt it most strongly?

10. The protagonists remark on how different Chefchaouen is from Tangier (page 193), even though they are only a couple of hours’ drive apart. Have you experienced this on your travels, that one town or city can feel completely different from the next?

11. There is a major character shift in the second half of the novel. Did you see it coming? Or did you foresee a different twist?

12. Did you ever feel that you wanted to advise Alice? What would you have suggested she do?

13. What was the difference in the two protagonists’ interpretations of the occasion when, as a student, Lucy ‘tried on’ Alice’s outfit? How did this compare with Alice borrowing Lucy’s clothes in Chefchaouen?

14. How did you feel about the ending of the story?

15. The story takes place in the 1950s. Do you think the same plot would work in a novel set in contemporary times?

16. Did the book make you want to travel to Morocco?

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