HONOR TO THE BRIDE: A True Story...

HONOR TO THE BRIDE: A True Story of Moroccan Love and Marriage Customs by Jane Kramer (Penguin: $8.95). This funny and revealing account of a family crisis illustrates the problems of people caught between Islamic tradition and the creeping invasion of Western values. During a religious pilgrimage with her parents, 13-year-old Khadija disappears, only to be discovered some weeks later in a brothel in a neighboring village. After reclaiming Khadija, her father must deal with the fact that his daughter is no longer a virgin. Reduced to the status of damaged goods, she can no longer command the traditional “bride price” that her family had eagerly anticipated. Surprisingly, these seemingly insurmountable problems get resolved happily in a thoroughly entertaining portrait of a culture simultaneously rule-bound and pragmatic.