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Summary: Could not put it down!
Review: Malika's story is one of heartbreak yet triumph of the human spirit. It is amazing to me that these crimes to humanity still exist in this day in age. A wake-up call to the universe!!
Rating: 
Summary: No Depth
Review: I could not get beyond the vanity and self-centeredness of Malika. I understand that she was locked up as a teenager, but the author needed to add depth to the historical events surrounding this event. Unfortunately, I could was not able to find a connection to the terribly spoiled girl who got locked up. Since I was unfamiliar with the history of the coupe, I was left wondering why the General would take action without taking steps to protect his family? Certainly he had the assets to do so.
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Summary: Just What the Doctor Ordered...
Review: After reading this book, I must admit that I was unable to view my life in the same way as before. I even discussed the book with friends after reading it, feeling a responsibility of sorts to pass along the unbelievable messages contained in this book. When I think of all the things that I let get me down during an average day (i.e., not enough money, my teeth aren't white enough, etc.), I feel ashamed. As the author points out, she and her family are not the only ones held against their will in this world. There are many, many people brutalized all in the name of power and greed worldwide. I must say that reading this book helped me to get perspective on my life and enjoy a sense of true gratitude for what I have. The book is worth reading without a doubt, although I was left with the feeling that more details could have been provided in many parts, particularly the latter portions of the book where a lot of events are wrapped up in a mere few pages. Bottom line - worth reading.
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Summary: The best book I've read this summer!
Review: I've read a number of novels this summer and I would have to say that this book was the best one. The story was so interesting, it was so hard for me to put it down. If you have the chance, please read this book. It's a book that touches the heart...and the soul.
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Summary: Twice stolen
Review: It takes more than surviving a harrowing experience to inspire a good book. The situation this family endured deserves better treatment than it gets here. Malika Oufkir's view of the social and political scene, which could have offered brilliant insight into a world hidden from our view, was that of a naive and uneducated teenager: uninformed and self-centered. Perhaps this is the result of being imprisoned in a desert for 20 years. Besides its disappointingly limited scope, an inept author was chosen to collaborate on this project. The writing of this first-person narrative was trite. Instead of being captivated by this family's plight, I found myself playing a distracting game of count-the-cliches, with at least one on every page. Good books combine a fascinating story and brilliant command of the written word. Neither element is evident here.
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Summary: It Made Me Really Think
Review: "Mommy, I don't like green beans" "I hate my job" "Why can't I get ahead" "I paid $460 for these boots. I couldn't possibly walk through that grass" "Honey, I don't feel like it; I have a headache" "Sweetheart, don't play too hard in that dress. Act like a young lady". "Why can't I lose this weight" "What is my one little vote gonna do?"Do you find yourself relating to any of these? Maybe knowing you've asked the questions or made the statements. Be certain that you are not alone, but if you get the urge to feel guilty, please do. Guilt allows us to all to think long and hard about our actions and how we could have done things differently. It gives us the chance to look at our own mistakes instead of the mistakes of the mstakes of others. Malika Oufkir made me face and explore my guilt. She became my own personal psychistraist, if you will. I found myself while reading this book and it was a journey I could not have made without GOD and her story. Reading about her suffering caused me to see myself and all the shallowness, I had allowed to take over my life. I admire and applaud Malika Oufkir for many things, but most of all for not being able to walk from one point to another without appreciating the fact that she can. The biggest lesson I believe I learned from this book is what the cliche "LIVE FOR TODAY" truly means. Most people take it to mean that whatever you want, do whatever you want, and say whatever you want, but the Stolen Lives story says to not just appreciate the wants but the needs as well. GOD BLESS Tamara
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Summary: Ghastly human rights abuse by the King of Morocco
Review: This is one of the most wrenching tales of human rights abuse I have ever read, and I have read many. The author's father, Gen. Muhammed Oufkir, was a high-ranking, wealthy, and widely-feared minister in the government of Morocco who had been convicted in France of masterminding a political murder in the "Ben Barka affair". Years later, in the event that preciptated the story in this book, Oufkir attempted to kill King Hassan II of Morocco in a coup that failed. For this crime he was subsequently murdered. (One would say "executed" except that it was without benefit of trial.) Had matters ended there, it would have been a tragedy for Oufkir's family, who were totally innocent of involvement in their father's affairs, but the events would have largely been forgotten outside of Morocco. However, things did not end there. King Hassan II was apparently not satisfied with Oufkir's death, because he subsequently ordered Ofkir's entire innocent family -- wife, daughters, sons (including a 3-year old) -- to be rounded up and imprisoned (also without benefit of trial), along with a couple of supremely loyal family friends/staff who insisted on accompanying them to prison. At first the imprisonment was physically bearable; but over time they were transferred to more and more squalid conditions in ever more remote locations. They were eventually forced to spend almost 20 years as prisoners, more than 10 of them totally incommunicado, in solitary confinement, in complete darkness, in rat-and vermin- infested cells, on a starvation diet, with no medical care, and under conditions that can only be described as mental and physical torture. During all that time the prisoners, including the mother, the author (who entered prison as a teenager) and the others all the way down to her youngest brother (who entered at 3), aged, grew, and matured mentally and physically, even as their mental and physical health was slowly ruined to the point that they all became suicidal. Imagine what this must have been like for the youngest! The story of their escape from these hopeless conditions via a tunnel, and their return from the near-death status of the "disappeareds" to international cause-celebre, is nothing short of miraculous. The escape of Papillon from Devil's Island pales by comparison. This book is totally absorbing and impossible to put down. You must read it. It is a serious and important book, and there are too many good things to say about it in this short review. The writing is disciplined and controlled, in an angry but not vengeful voice. To me the most profound theme is the evil inherent in the concentration of arbitary power in the hands of a despotic man who could commit such an atrocity. There is no legal or moral code left on Earth that visits punishment for the crimes of the father on the innocent wife, children, and friends as well, let alone punishment that is this terrible and extended. Did I mention that the author had actually been the adopted daughter of the very same King Hassan II responsible for all of this? All Moroccan's should be ashamed of their King Hassan II after this book. Let us hope it will help lead to a revolution in the governance of that beautiful country.
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Summary: An Incredible Account
Review: Malika Oufkir's account of the twenty years of her life spent in jail was captivating and apalling. This memoir was excellently written, as it had the power to inspire and intrigue me. The tradgedy that she revisited through her writing was horrible beyond any description, yet she wonderfully and powerfully described it. She shows impressive writing skills, and through them her incredible character and the unbelievable horrors that mankind is capable of. "Stolen Lives" has inspired me to become involved with the international protection of human rights, and also has made me realize how many superficial concerns and luxuries we needlessly, and unfortunately, feel we need to dedicate oursleves to.
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Summary: What Incredible Strength!
Review: This is a very powerful book! I had to keep reminding myself while reading this book that not only was it true, but that it happened in my lifetime... and not that many years ago! It was difficult to comprehend that someone (a despot like King Hassan II) would lock up a family for the crimes of their father. I don't know how the Oufkir family survived such an ordeal, and for twenty years. I am sure that the writing of this book was somewhat therapeutic for Malika. I hope that the rest of her family is able to benefit from this story being out in the open. The world has benefited from hearing this story - it is important that we are made aware of such atrocities that are taking place in today's world. I am grateful to be living in a country where I don't have to worry about such terrible things happening to people! The world, now that we know about such atrocities, must do all that we can to see that such terrible things as happened to the Oufkir family never happen again! Thank you Malika Oufkir for the strength to survive such an ordeal, and then the incredible strength to recount it!
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Summary: Unbelievable courage in horrorific conditions!
Review: I saw an interview with Malika Oufkir on Oprah Winfrey's show and was so taken by her courage, her incredible spiritual strength and the unbelievable horror of her tale, that I felt I had to know more. I found this version to be an inspiring testimony to the human spirit but also an honest account of the terrible toll of this family's ordeal, leaving one brother "a permanent child" in Malika's own words, a brother who found adjusting to a normal, free life nearly impossible and who is still suffering the effects of his imprisonment.For their part, Oufkir and her sisters were left suspicious of men, emotionally scarred by what they survived...and yet they also managed to find the strength to serve as witnesses to their injustice and to find the courage to speak out. This is one of the most inspiring true-life accounts I've read in the last year and one I'd put on any "must read" list. If you dont know the details of Oufkir's story, here's a brief summary: At the age of 5, Malika Oufkir, eldest daughter of General Oufkir, was adopted by King Muhammad V of Morocco, a man who wanted an available playmate for his young daughter. While in the palace, Oufkir led a life of a fairy princess, in total luxury --- until her father was found guilty of treason as part of a coup to overthrow the new regime (led by King Hassan II). Malika's father was executed and she, her mother and her brother and sisters were immediately imprisoned. From one day to the next, Oufkir went from luxury to a struggle for her very existence, living in conditions that you can't believe until you read about it. There were times when one or the other would try and commit suicide (her brother when he was only 7) or be forced to eat food drenched in rat urine. And yet they DID persevere and manage to escape to tell their tale. Please don't assume that the grim details in this book (and I won't pull any punches; there are parts of this book that are difficult to read0 take away from the inspiration to be found here. After finishing this book, I actually felt uplifted and was amazed that I did, buoyed by the fact that this family went through such horror and yet managed to find the courage to survive - and then to tell about it.
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