In the Country of Others tells the fictionalized story of Slimani’s own grandparents during a time of turmoil. During World War II, Amine Belhaj is a Moroccan soldier stationed in the Alsacian region of France. There he meets and marries his French wife Mathilde, and after the war, they go to live in Meknes, Morocco.
Mathilde finds it difficult to adjust to Moroccan life, especially once they move 15 miles out of town to live on the land Amine’s father bought and that he has dreamed of cultivating. Mathilde struggles to fight the total loss of power expected of an Arab wife. Amine can sometimes be physically abusive. Also, he works hard and spends all his time and money on the orchards. Mathilde would like to go into town and have some fun sometime. As what is considered a mixed-race couple, they are mocked on the street.
The narrative shifts mostly to her daughter Aïcha when she is a young girl starting school. Her parents send her to a Catholic school where she is mocked by her French schoolmates. She hates her kinky hair and is terrified when her parents leave her at school the first day.
As it gets into the 50s, the Moroccans move closer to war when France ignores their desire for independence. French people and homes are attacked.
This is a novel about sex and power. Although Mathilda doesn’t want Aïcha to be raised as a submissive woman, she finds herself forcing her sister-in-law Selma into marriage with an old man when Selma is deserted by her young French lover. It is also about power in terms of who will control the country.
It is an interesting story that’s told in a dispassionate way, keeping me from totally identifying with any of the characters. It’s clear toward the end that Aïcha is identifying with the native Moroccans rather than the French, even though she is half and half, but Slimani herself doesn’t seem to take any sides, either in war or in sexual politics, even though she clearly wants more for Moroccan women.
whatmeread 
I had the same problem with this book. It was interesting, but it lacked passion and I struggled to form emotional connections with any of the characters.
Hmm, it sound interesting from a historical perspective, but a dispassionate style usually makes it quite hard to care about the characters.
Yes, that’s what I felt.