The Djinn in the Skull: Stories from hidden Morocco

by Samantha Herron

A blind man searches for his wife in the dark; a missing boy roams the desert; a djinn appears out of a human skull; a sick nomad returns to his home town; a brother and sister arrive in an unfamiliar town at the stroke of midnight… Author Samantha Herron has spent time living with a family of former nomads in Morocco’s Draa Valley on the edge of the Sahara Desert, where she immersed herself in the language, culture and traditions of the country. She became captivated by the ancient art of storytelling, which she found to be alive and thriving informally amongst the community in which she was living. She began collecting stories that she was hearing and then found herself imagining and composing her own. This debut collection of her stories, all set in contemporary Morocco, takes the reader on a journey into the hearts and minds of ordinary Moroccans and offers a glimpse into life in this magical and ancient land.