The Strings of the Lute

By Eileen Colucci

Book Overview

Growing up Catholic together on Long Island, NY, shy, free-spirited Lorraine DeVico and outgoing, traditionalist Suzanne Tierney are inseparable. Their friendship endures Lorraine's crisis of faith at... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1425774792
• ISBN13: 9781425774790
• Release Date: June 2007
• Publisher: Xlibris
• Length: 396 Pages
• Weight: 1.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent story!

Excellent story! Struck many chords with me, since I too, am a "mixed-couple" - I never think of it anymore, but apparently other people still do. A great part of the book is about struggles Lorraine had with her new home of Morocco, new traditions, and religious differences. What struck me was Lorraine and Larbi saw nothing insurmountable about their relationship, even when others did. Lorraine was continually warned about marrying a Muslim, a Moroccan, and a "non American". I thought it was wonderful how the author didn't exhaust the reader with continual antagonistic fights, and struggles of culture clashes, and religious rights and wrongs. Rather, it was a love story, two people with whom love really did conquer all.

A story of a clash of civilizations

Catholic schoolgirls growing up on Long Island Lorraine and Suzanne are inseparable best friends - until their college years manage to break that bond. "The Strings of the Lute" is a story of a clash of civilizations, as Lorraine falls for a Moroccan man whom she bears a child with and follows back to Morocco. Suzanne discovers this and follows Lorraine with a hidden agenda, to bring Lorraine's child home with her for a more Catholic upbringing in spite of Suzanne's new husband. The conflicts of culture, religion, and background come to ahead in a deftly written piece of literature, "The Strings of the Lute" is highly recommended for community library fiction shelves everywhere.

Perfect for our time

A great novel, a great writer, a great insight into Moroccan culture. A must read.

A book worthy of Oprah's Attention!!!

...finally, a book that bridges the unnecessary divide between the Christian and Muslim worlds. As someone who as spent more than 2 decades working and living with the Arab peoples I found the timing of this book excellent and a topic worthy of any Book Club. Well done Ms. Colucci and thanks for taking the time to write this work. Take note Ms. Oprah; this one is worth reading!

kudos for this lovely story of a mixed marriage!

The Strings of the Lute is a universal story of how love crosses oceans and transcends political and cultural differences. It is the story of Lorraine de Vico, a shy, yet free-spirited young woman of high ideals and of her best friend Suzanne Tierney. Growing up on Long Island during the Vietnam era, Lorraine suffers a crisis of faith and her path leads her to France and into the life of Larbi El Maghrebi. Marrying and moving to Morocco, she learns to adjust to life in a culture far different from her Catholic upbringing, as well as being working on being accepted as an individual in a mixed marriage. Years later, when tragedy strikes, it is Suzanne who journeys to Lorraine's adopted home, and despite her initial prejudice and views, she comes to realize that true love is capable of transcending all boundaries. I loved this gem of a book! It is one of those stories that makes us dare to redefine what is true love. Is it merely the joining of two people of same interests, faith, background, nationalities? Or is it something more: that real love transcends everything, and that it is the grander idea of how a man and a woman can look at each other and see another kindred soul, and that nothing else matters, not nationality or religion or even culture. This is an important book in these times of snap judgments on nationalities based on sensationalist news reports. Prejudice against Arabs and Moslems is daily fare for newsfeeds, and this brave book by Ms Colucci shows us how one young woman defies all for love. After all, we are all the same, and all capable of great love. I made my own quantum leap to marry a foreigner and have not regretted it since. Sometimes I think of how staid my life would have been had I not looked outside of my own background -- I would never have known all the good and bad things about adjusting to a new culture, learning a new language, raising children in a foreign climate, loving a worthy man... Brava and encore, Ms Colucci, for daring to write such a good book about crossing cultures! You are writing for all of us who have dared to dream of stepping across borders and find love and happiness in foreign climes!