Rating: 
Summary: My best read this year!
Review: What I liked about this book was the simplicity of the text, the genuine story of the one who experienced it. I loved to hear how she told her experiences in the palace, in prison, how they escaped. It was truly an awesome and inspiring book, loved it!
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing Tale of Human Will To Live
Review: The story of this book gripped me and I found myself being completely appalled by the fact that it was a real story. I couldn't put this book down and found myself searching for more information on Malika Oukfir on the internet.That being said, I did find the writing style of the this book very rudimentary and uninspired.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing detail, even after all these years
Review: At first the story seemed a bit blah to me - her first 'imprisonment' was in the royal palace. Although she dearly missed her parents, she was treated like a princess and as if she was the king's own daughter. It was very interesting to see how the Moroccan royalty lived. Later in the book, she was placed under house arrest with her family in a series of guarded homes. However it seemed that she was still living a better life than many of the country's poor (all the food and water they wanted, plus all their belongings - designer clothing, jewelry, etc. - were still in their possession). It is not until later in the book that the Oufkir family is transferred to a deplorable prison which seemed to me like a concentration camp. There, they spent many years and became like so many other political prisoners "the forgotten." Ms. Oufkir has an uncanny ability to remember the most minute details of her life and does an excellent job of relating the relationships between herself and her family members as well as describing her thoughts and feelings throughout their imprisonment. Like some other reviewers, I too believe the writing was a bit weak at times (the only reason I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5), but perhaps that is because the story was translated into English. I do recommend this book - it is a 'heavy' read though and can be quite stressful at times.
Rating:
Summary: Strong Story, Weak Writing
Review: Stolen Lives is an as-told-to book that has been translated from the French into English, and it reads like it. The prose is clunky and inelegant, and if the story wasn't so powerful, this would be a book to skim through and toss. But the story is powerful. Malika Oufkir was adopted by the King of Morocco as a companion to his daughter when she was 5. She lived among the palace harem, in an almost indescribably elegant setting and had the benefit of a private education, tutored by the Princess's own tutor. When she was a teenager, however, all that ended. Her father, General Oufkir, was executed for attempting to assassinate the King. Malika, along with her mother and her five brothers and sisters, was sent into exile. As the world forgot about them, they faded further and further from view. Each time they were transferred, they had to make do with ever shabbier treatment and conditions. By the time they escaped, they had been locked in solitary cells and been fed on scraps of rotten vegetables...and then they were recaptured. Transcribed just two years after Malika was able to leave Morocco for France, Stolen Lives reeks with the power of her anger. At times, though, the anger got in the way of the story she is trying to tell. Michele Fitoussi, the Tunisian-French journalist who wrote Malika's story, did a mediocre job of editing, highlighting the outrage rather than Malika's family's extraordinary resilience.
Rating: 
Summary: Behind palace doors is the real story
Review: When I had finished reading this book, I naturally felt sympathetic for what this family experienced. Twenty years were taken from them as they were incarcerated in an assortment of facilities. Some of these jails were very accommodating, providing food, entertainment, visits to the city and visitors. In the later years, their confinement was more severe in general. What began to disturb me were the unanswered questions I could not help but contemplate. While no one would question a daughter's love for her father, his responsibility in the coup attempt was not explored in greater detail. I felt she was beginning to question the flagrant life style and rule of the King, but politically, justification for her father's behavior was sadly lacking. It is quite noble to take the rap (20 years) for your executed father's sins, but dreamy reminisces of how her father spent the afternoon with her doesn't justify the sacrifice her entire family suffered for his actions. Far more appalling is a culture that condones the ruling party to abuse young women and girls and take them as sexual toys and playthings. This revelation is far more compelling to the reader as she accounts for the shocking conditions that take place behind palace doors. Stealing young children away from their family simply as playthings for the "royal child" is disgusting. Grooming children to sexually cater to "the king" is worse than disgusting. The exhibition demonstrated by the rich is beyond belief in comparison to the stark poverty of the country's peasants. The recollections by the author of her early years and the lifestyle her family enjoyed is just frankly obscene. Actually, I give her credit for her honesty, but I couldn't help feel that she would go back to it with no hesitation had the opportunity arose. In these difficult days lately, when one hears of Muslims criticizing Americans for their extravagance, I admit it is very difficult for me to restrain my irritation since reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: Depressing but Entrancing...
Review: Honestly, I was bored for the first 50 pages and I must have put it down several times. Then when I got to about page 80 or so, I could not put it down. She's a prim little princess basically before her father tries to assassinate King Hassan II. Her father is executed and her and her family are sentenced to pay for their father's treacherous acts. They spend twenty years. This book focuses on her palace life inside the harem, prison life, and escaping the disease-infested prison. This book is quite touching and almost brought me to tears at one point, even though the point of the book is not to make you feel sorry for Malika and her family as stated in the introduction. This book is a collaboration between Malika and Michele Fitoussi, and was first record in French. Anybody who is interested in Muslim culture and able to read about unbelievable hardships will enjoy this book.
Thought Provoking.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting story but a little slow in the telling...
Review: The author starts out by telling of her life prior to the arrest and confinement. She wastes far too many pages recalling the "good old days" in the palace. However, once she gets into the meat of her story it gets pretty interesting. Not the best real-life adventure story but an amazing tale of courage nonetheless.
Rating:
Summary: fascinating but not well written
Review: This book is an excellent quick read. I found it to be very interesting, mostly because it's true. It's hard to believe what they endured. If you're looking for good quality writing, however, this isn't your book.
Rating:
Summary: Well Worth It!
Review: This is one of the most gripping stories I've encountered in a long time; thought provoking. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: This is the first truly amazing book that I have read in a long time. After reading it, I wanted to change the way that I lived & acted. The strength & will to survive that this family had is like nothing I have ever seen in my life. I could not put the book down. It had so many different aspects to it: it was funny, serious, heart-breaking, political, and a happy ending. I've been to Morocco & after reading this book, I look at it in a whole new light. I still cannot even begin to imagine experiencing the things that her family went through. I have recommended this book to everyone I know. After reading, it will change your life & not many books can claim that.
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