One of the first personal accounts by a an ex-prisoner of what Hassan II, King of Morocco, called his "secret garden"--a complex of horrendous prisons in which opponents of his regime disappeared and often died. This book forced Hassan II in July 1999 (two weeks before his death) to express, reluctantly but publicly, his "regrets" over the way the Oufkir family was treated during the 20 years of their imprisonment for no other reason than being the wife and children of General Mohammed Oufkir, Hassan's strong man who tried to oust him from power in 1972. A must read for anyone concerned about human rights in Morocco.

The book shows the injustice and abuse of human rights. A whole family was punished severely and imprisoned due to the acts of one person. After several years of terrible conditions, some members escape and are able to contact the press and let the world know their terrible predicament. The contrast between the author's comfortable upbringing and childhood in the king's palace, and the following period in prison are incredible. This is a more gripping tale of survival and enduring hardship than even, Shackleton. A must read.

"Stolen Lives" is the story of Malika Oufkir, the daughter of a close aide to the King of Morocco who is forced to live eleven years in the king's harem and then two decades in prison for her father's treason. She and her mother and siblings are sophisticated, wealthy, and attractive when they are locked away, which helps to kindle the young reader's sympathy. This book was written after Oufkir fled to France and told her story to co-writer Michele Fitoussi. The story is compelling enough, filled with fantasy worlds of unimaginable wealth, it is tragic enough as a beautiful family is tossed into jail for no legal reason, and there is the redemptive conclusion as they escape and reflect on the strength of the human spirit. It's all perfect grist for a storybook for adolescent girls. Fitoussi's prose is as breathless as any romance novel. The plotting is a thin chronology with facts quickly forgotten and no pesky political explanations to set up the context. The characters are all transcendently beautiful. Not much substance for a critical reader -certainly not enough to merit a book club discussion- but lots of faraway starry-eyed romance for a teenager.

"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.

READ IT NOW! Once you start this book, you won't want to put it down until finished.

Malika Oufkir's first five years were spent with her loving family. The next several years of her life were spent with her adoptive royal family. The King of Morocco wanted a live-in friend for his own daughter, therefore the adoption of Malika was arranged. When Malika was a teen-ager she was allowed to return to her family where she enjoyed being with those she loved. Shortly thereafter, in 1972, her father was executed after being accused of attempting to assassinate the king. As if guilty by association, Malika, now 18 hears old, her mother, brothers, sisters, and two compatriots were exiled and spent the next 20 years in various prisons.

The background leading up to the exile of Malika, her family, and friends was indeed informative and educational. One staggering event in this story is that even though the parents agreed to the king's adoption of their five-year-old daughter solely for the purpose of providing a friend and playmate for the king's own child, there really was no choice in the matter. In other words, the king rules. Frightening is the fact is that the guilt by association exile and imprisonment of these people started not that long ago, in 1972.

Briefly, as a teen-ager with her family, Malika did enjoy an exciting and fun-filled time. For example, she liked to dress in the most hip styles of the time, sneak out of the house at night and head for a local night club for an evening of dancing, etc.

The meat of the story, however, begins with the exile. Living under horrendous conditions, which included lack of sanitation, lack of adequate food, lack of normal communication, this family persevered. Malika played a primary role in maintaining a will, not only to live and rise above their humiliation, but to escape their confines.

Beginning their confinement, the youngest was only three. He grew up in prison. All of the family was concerned for him because he had no awareness of normal life. Through Malika's day to day, continued story telling, he learned much. Everyone looked forward to the story, which provided needed entertainment and a special camaraderie for these prisoners. It kind of reminded me of the "Arabian Nights", with a twist.

Confinement to separate cells constituted part of their prison time. This was a clever family, though, and being separated inspired creative ways to stay in touch.

Eventually a plan to escape materializes from the minds of these incarcerated innocents.

You, now, must read this story to see what happens...

A story of great courage and love and freedom lost. Malika recounts her family's fate with much candor, and eloquent simplicity that captivates you immediately. The Oufkir's family ties saw them through some of the most inhumane treatment one can imagine. I highly recommend this book.

This was an incredible story about 9 survivors, a mother and her children (ages 3 to 19 years) and two assistants, imprisoned inhumanely for 20 years in a Moroccon desert jail. They were political prisoners, innocent victims, for a crime they did not commit and which they were not tried for. They were taken away in the dead of the night and did not deserve the cruelties which they were to face for the next 20 years.

They were originally from upperclass society. Their youth, innocence and freedom were stolen from them and their lives changed forever. It is a heart-wrenching true story about courage, love, survival and a miracle!!

Although the story is amazing and unbelievable, the book was poorly written. It kept jumping around different time periods and sometimes it was difficult to keep track of the timeline of the story. I would still recommend everybody to read it because it's about survival and how a family overcame their worst nightmare. It will teach you about appreciation of more important things in life, the things we take for granted, rather than power, money and modern conveniences.

i recently read this book and loved it, it's facinating how someone can live through that with her whole family and continue to be that couragous. I was intrigued and would love to read more books by these two.