The Foreign Service Journal, November 2008

Fiction The Common Bond Donigan Merritt, Other Press, 2008, $14.95, paperback, 384 pages. This latest novel by Donigan Merritt — “one of those too-lit- tle-known writers who deserve a wider audience,” according to Booklist — is a heart-wrenching plunge into the scattered remains of novelist-fisher- man Morgan Carey’s life after the sudden death of his wife. Returning to his beloved Hawaii to confront his grief and guilt and work through the haunting memo- ries of the past, he must find a basis for moving on. Says Publishers Weekly : “Merritt crafts a thorough emotional examination of a couple who spend their lives side by side while managing to remain unknown to one another.” Kirkus Reviews adds: “The shadow of Hemingway looms over the style, and even aspects of the plot and setting, of the narrative … an engaging journey through passion and redemption.” Donigan Merritt, the spouse of FSO and American Corners Coordinator Holly Murten, is a graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop. He is the author of six previous novels, among them Possessed by Shadows (Other Press, 2005), My Sister’s Keeper (Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1983) and One Easy Piece (Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1981). Now resi- dent in Washington, D.C., he has lived in Hawaii, Slovakia and Germany. The Bride’s Fair Hal Fleming, PublishAmerica, 2008, $19.95, paperback, 212 pages. Among the Ait Hadidou Berbers, deep in the Mid Atlas Mountains of Morocco, there is a traditional three-day ex- change or selling of sheep, tea, sugar, mules and men. It’s called “The Bride’s Fair,” because young virgin brides circle suitable mates and choose for themselves. Older, married women can also return to the fair to divorce and select a new husband. In this novel of international intrigue, Americans, mountain Berbers, Moroccan Arabs and a rebel group all converge on the festival. The mystery cen- ters on a possible act of terrorism and contains various subplots, including many efforts to halt the terrorist act, a young bride’s struggle to escape an arranged marriage, American love interests, the efforts of local officials to contain the disaster, and the obstacles faced by the terrorist group bent on disrupting the fair. Disaster is averted at the last minute by a startling rev- elation. The story unfolds steadily, moved along by the author’s authentic insights into both the diplomatic community and Islamic history. A retired FSO, Hal Fleming has served as a senior official with the Peace Corps, in Morocco with USAID and at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. From 1994 to 1997 he was a deputy assistant secretary of State for international organizations. Now a resident of Great Falls, Va., he previously lived for 10 years in Africa. Margarita’s Husband: A Fable of the Levant Andriana Ierodiaconou, Armida Publications, 2007, $13.50, paperback, 163 pages. Set during the early 20th cen- tury in a small imaginary British colony “somewhere” in the Le- vant, this debut novel wrestles with Cypriot themes of revolt and political unrest between the Muslim and Christian populations. Homer Kyroleon, a wealthy Christian landowner, womanizer and political figure, is married to the mag- ical, docile Margarita, who has the ability to commu- nicate with animals. When his only daughter dies, Kyroleon is forever changed. He becomes infatuated with a young refugee girl and declines an opportunity to disrupt a planned Muslim-Christian uprising against colonial rule that could undermine his own economic position. On the night of the uprising for- bidden love, political revolution and physical injury all collide. Andriana Ierodiaconou, the wife of retired Senior FSO Alan Berlind, was born in Cyprus and grew up bilingual in English and Greek. She is a graduate of St. Hugh’s College, Oxford. A former freelance for- eign correspondent in Athens for the Financial Times of London and other media, her work has appeared in literary magazines in Cyprus and internationally. She lives in France with her family and writes full-time. Her novel can be purchased by e-mail from book shop@moufflon.com.cy . 34 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 8