The book that I recently read had an incredible writing style that was both magical and beautiful. The language used in the book was truly captivating and it made the reading experience very enjoyable. The way the author described the settings in Casablanca was so vivid and detailed that it allowed me to feel like I was actually there. The author's ability to transport the reader into the setting was truly remarkable.

What I really enjoyed about the book was the diversity of the characters and the contrasting social and economic status that was portrayed. It was interesting to see how the characters interacted and how their different backgrounds influenced their decisions and actions. The author did a great job of developing the characters and making them relatable.

While I personally didn't connect with the book as much as I would have liked, I would still highly recommend it to anyone with a love for words and descriptive writing. The book really is a lovely read, and the author's writing style is truly remarkable. Overall, I am glad that I had the opportunity to read this title, and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

The writing and language in this book was magical and so so beautiful. The description of the settings in Casablanca allowed the reader to be transported directly there. I enjoyed the diversity of the characters and the differing social economical status, really allowed for some contrast. I’m glad I had the opportunity to read this title. Unfortunately, I don’t think this book was for me however I urge anyone with a love for words and descriptive writing to pick it up. It really is lovely.

I was really excited to read Abigail Assor's "As Rich as the King" as I've not had many opportunities to read books set in Casablanca. The descriptions of the city are incredibly vivid and immersive, and the relations between the elites and Arab working classes quite apt. However, when it came to the characters and the plot I was left feeling somewhat lukewarm.

The novel focuses on Sarah, a sixteen-year-old French teenager who moved to Casablanca as a child after her mother (described as the local 'whore') followed her lover there. As soon as they arrived the lover took off with their savings leaving them penniless and struggling to survive in a Moroccan ghetto. However, the situation isn't as dire as it seems. As a French citizen Sarah is entitled to a free education at an exclusive private school in the city that the native borne Moroccan students are obligated to pay for. Despite Sarah's French and white heritage, she's ashamed of living in poverty and schemes to find a rich man to marry her.

It's at this point that I felt somewhat alienated from the novel. 'As Rich as the King' is set in the 1990s but the way in which Sarah pins all her hopes on finding men to take care of her, even having sex from the age of 14 with male students in exchange for paninis left me thinking that it would have better to have set the novel in the 1950s when women had fewer options. Perhaps my ignorance of Moroccan culture is coming into play (I'm not familiar with gender relations at the start of the early 1990s) but given that Sarah's mother has been left all but defeated after spending most of her life chasing that elusive rich man, I would have thought Sarah would have seen the dangers in focusing her entire energies on doing the same.

Sarah eventually finds an older man Driss to take care of her, however, he's socially awkward and his position as the son of a fassi (Casablanca's elite) means that Sarah's plans to marry him that includes getting pregnant deliberately comes to naught. There's no real conclusion to the novel. Sarah gets an abortion once it's made clear that Driss' parents will cut him off if he goes through with his plan to marry her. Although Sarah realises that Driss is far to high a prospect to aim for as a poor French girl, I am as a reader left struggling to see whether Sarah will learn to invest in herself or continue plotting to find another rich man.

In some ways, I really liked how the author explored the limited prospects facing working-class women who dream of social mobility. But it's hard to sympathise with Sarah who desires an affluent lifestyle but isn't prepared to work for it. Even going as far as to ignore the advice of another poor student (who attends the same school as Sarah but on a full scholarship) to concentrate more on her schoolwork so that she can enter one of the professions. I was definitely excited to read this book but I feel it should have been set in another decade or alternatively have Sarah pursue social mobility from all angles, such as taking advantage of the elite education provided to her to expand her social networks as well as trying to find a rich man to make her his wife.