Rating: 
Summary: Amazing story of personal triumph
Review: "Stolen Lives" is Malika Oufkir's personal account of her life as an adopted daughter of the king of Morocco, then later a political prisoner in Morocco as she and her family paid for the sins of their father. It was interesting to learn about the traditions in Morocco. It's amazing that she was basically just taken away from her parents at a young age in order to become an adopted daughter of the king, since he had a daughter the same as as Malika and the daughter needed a playmate. Malika gives an interesting account of the ways of the court- the traditions, the festivals, the reverence paid to the king and the concubines. As a child, she never had a normal life- she was essentially a prisoner inside the court. I would have liked to have read more vivid and detailed accounts of the court- not gossipy, just from a cultural standpoint. I had a hard time picturing many of the scenes she described due to vagueness. After her father, a revered military man, was executed after leading a coup against the king, he was executed and the family sent into exile, even though the family had nothing to do with the coup. The conditions were incomprehensibly inhumane. I'm amazed that Malika is able to talk about it so freely, for she even admits she's haunted by the demons. It's difficult to even empathize despite her account, for I've never experienced anything like she went through. It's a story that sounds more like 15th century Europe than 20th century Morocco. Her youngest brother was only 3 when they were imprisoned. She describes how amazed he was with the world when a few of them were able to escape. For instance, he finds something hard on the ground but didn't know what it was- it was simply asphalt. I was shocked that I had never heard of her story, and I am upset that the US media has not focused more on political prisoners such as Malika and her family. No, I'm not a card-carrying member of Amnesty International or anything, but it is important to bring stories such as Malika's to light. As her story reveals (but without going into too much detail), when the international media learns of their plight, circumstances change. Malika is very forthright with her opinions and emotions. She describes how her feelings towards the king were so mixed with the love of a daughter towards her father and with the hatred of the wrongly imprisoned towards the captor. Her whole view of the world has changed, and yet a lot of her original opinions never changed. I recommend this book!
Rating:
Summary: Tragic!
Review: The story as a whole was very tragic and I felt for the captives but the writing left a little to be desired. An event of this nature is horrible and for it to last that long is mortifying and a reader should be left with that feeling when they are reading it. Yet, the book lost me about half way in. I kept wanting there to be some human element to the story but it was sadly lacking. It was a quick, blow by blow, run down of 20 years of hell. For readers now seeking to understand life in the Middle East this is the wrong book. It does not go into enough detail about why things like this happen. It is not enough to just reveal that they do. I feel that authors have the responsibility to enlighten their readers with a complete image rather than half of one.
Overall it was a good book but I was not overly impressed with the writing style or the text.
Rating: 
Summary: Moving
Review: What an amazing story, despite been well written or not, it is worth reading. I could not put the book down. I am glad that in the end, the Oufkir family has managed to reclaim their lives.
Rating:
Summary: POWERFUL!
Review: This is a powerful.. powerful book that will grab you and not let go. Get this book today and let it grab you!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing story that deserves a better telling.
Review: "Stolen Lives" needs to be evaluated on two different levels - the moving tale of a family imprisoned under the worst conditions for 20 years and the way this amazing story has been memorialized by Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi. The subject is engrossing and important, but the book itself is not well-written. This accounts for the disparity in ratings that the book has received. It is fascinating to read about Malika'a unique and frequently heartbreaking life. The eldest daughter of a Morococcan general, she was taken from her family and adopted by the King. Western readers will find the tales of her life in the royal household surprising and enlightening. Not only was the lifestyle outrageously lavish, it was also consisted of customs and traditions that are completely different from our own. Malika was allowed to return to her own family as a young teenager. She only had a few years to get to know her father and enjoy life outside the confines of the palace. Her father before General Oufkir was implicated in a coup attempt against the King and was assassinated. The rest of the family - Malika, her mother, her oldest brother, three young sisters and three year old baby brother were summarily imprisoned. For twenty years they lived in increasingly brutal and inhumane conditions, persecuted by the King for their father's crimes and forgotten by the world. Thanks to their uncommon courage and ingenuity, the family was able to survive and eventually escape. It's not easy to read about many of the horrors and indignities that were heaped upon the Oufkirs, but it's important that the world know about their story. Unfortunately, the book is not worthy of this amazing story. It was written by Malika with the assistance of Michele Fitoussi. The first problem is that the book does not give sufficient background about either the history of Morrocco or General Oufkir's powerful role as one of the King's chief aides. Those unfamiliar with Moroccan history will frequently find themself at a loss for context. Second, given that this is Malika's first person account, it necessarily is a very one-sided version of history. Not that I doubt her version of events - I just would have preferred a more complete and well-researched book that included not only Malika's story but also those of her siblings. Malika frequently portrays herself as the backbone of the family, the strongest member who kept them all from succumbing to madness. This very likely is true, but it would have a much greater impact coming from someone else. Finally, the writing style is very repetitive and immature. While Michele Fitoussi is very sympathetic to Malika's story and deserves much credit for persuading her to tell her story, I have no doubt that a more objective and skilled writer would have improved the quality of the book immensely. Hopefully a serious scholar will undertake a complete telling of the Oufkir's story. I, for one, will be anxious to read it.
Rating:
Summary: a horrifying true story...
Review: This true story is truly a horrifying experience and shows the sad and disgusting evil a person can do to another, even to young children. I could not put this book down and I still think about what this family went through. You can even see on Amnesty's website where they even have reports inquiring the King's treatment of this family, as well as hundreds of other "disappeared" persons.
Rating: 
Summary: ERZ
Review: This book definetly was well worth reading. It made me sit and think of what i was doing when this women and her family was sitting there in a prison with no hope. It shows not to take advantage of things and to realize that things arent always that rough and there are people suffering more than you and you just need to be grateful of what you have. Unfortunetly this is a true story and because of that it hits you even more. I enjoyed this book and hope to see the Oprah interview if it comes on again.
Rating: 
Summary: Just Could't Get Through It
Review: At first I was intrigued by the vivid descriptions of a palace life in a far-away land. Then, the details began to jump back and forth and all over the place. It seems that just when Ms. Oukfir would get to the next part of her story, she would remember something else from the previous part and go into a whole different direction, never returning to where she left off. It was getting me dizzy so I just put the book down. The story is worth telling, it's just too bad there wasn't a good editor.
Rating: 
Summary: And ?
Review: The only pertinent question being :
Who cares ?
If the adopted "Royal" family needs to make a few bucks these days, ever heard of a job ?
Rating:
Summary: A must-read!
Review: This book is the true story of a woman and her family being sent to jail for 20 years, in subhuman conditions. I was absolutely immersed in this book and, once I finished it, I wanted more! I started hunting through the internet for more news from the past and updates about this family. My heart is still tender for little Abdellatif, who entered prison at age three and never knew anything else and is now scarred emotionally for life (as are all the rest as well, in their different ways). This is a very moving story about survival, about familily ties, and especially about the courageous nature of the human spirit. I definitely reccommend this book, though beware: some parts may be tough to read for sensitive readers! What I found most amazing is that all of this ocurred in my own lifetime.
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