THE COUSCOUS CHRONICLES

An account of a cross-cultural life and career—and the role couscous has played in it.

In his debut book, Downes, the president of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, presents a charming and engaging series of autobiographical vignettes of growing up in Morocco, moving to the United States, and working for the Peace Corps and the U.S. State Department in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and other places in the Middle East and Europe. A common theme running throughout this book involves challenges that the author experienced while negotiating tradition and modernity as a Muslim. And as the title suggests, it is also about the role of couscous in his life—not only as a food staple, but as a cultural artifact. Some of the book’s best anecdotes explore the role of couscous in courtship; for example, he tells the story of a woman who was under the impression that the author was engaged to her because he’d eaten couscous with her while unchaperoned. He also discusses the centrality of couscous in the story of his relationship with his wife, Nadia. The book offers an intriguing study in how to make a traditional arranged marriage work in the modern world. Some of Downes’ other anecdotes, however, seem improbable, such as his account of serving as an amateur doctor while studying at Harvard University. Some readers may also be unsettled by occasional casual references to the Muslim Brotherhood, described as “a political force opposed to all forms of government aside from a reestablished caliphate,” in this otherwise rather lighthearted work. Overall, though, this is an engaging and enjoyable international remembrance. (The book includes a foreword by his friend and famed ethologist Jane Goodall.)

An often delightful memoir that explores the challenges and possibilities of living among multiple cultures.