From the Bookshelf of Closter Public Library…

[close] Often compelling insider look at the military from the point of view of two wives. Set within the Jordan on the cusp of the Arab Spring, The Confusion of Languages is a story of the complicated bonds of forced friendship in an alien environment. Narrated by Cassie, with excerpts from Margaret's journal, it shows how misunderstandings can easily arise. Cassie has been struggling with fertility after years of trying to have a baby, and she tries to hide her jealousy as she befriends Margaret who has newly arrived with her husband and baby after he is posted to Jordan. Often gripping, it explores what it means to be inserted into a different culture (Cassie responds with distance and propriety, and Margret tries to fit in with kindness and curiosity), it comes to a believable and satisfying resolution.