Bedtime Reading

On a friend's recommendation, I ordered Tahir Shah's enthralling account of living in a rundown mansion in a rundown area of Casablanca. His account of corrupt bureaucrats, sly architects, sledgehammer-wielding workmen, and furtive household staff make me thankful for our experience in Egypt. Some of the characters are familiar but we lack the mischievous jinns (spirits) inhabiting Dar Khalifa's plumbing and vacant rooms. Ilhumdulila!