The Confusion of Languages

Siobhan Fallon

Jun 2017 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

A searing debut novel from the award-winning author of You Know When the Men are Gone, about jealousy, the unpredictable path of friendship, and the secrets kept in marriage, all set within the U.S. expat community of the Middle East during the rise of the Arab Spring.

Both Cassie Hugo and Margaret Brickshaw dutifully followed their soldier husbands to the U.S. embassy in Jordan, but that’s about all the women have in common. After two years, Cassie’s become an expert on the rules, but newly arrived Margaret sees only her chance to explore. So when a fender-bender sends Margaret to the local police station, Cassie reluctantly agrees to watch Margaret’s toddler son. But as the hours pass, Cassie’s boredom and frustration turn to fear: Why isn’t Margaret answering her phone, and why is it taking so long to sort out a routine accident? Snooping around Margaret’s apartment, Cassie begins to question not only her friend’s whereabouts but also her own role in Margaret’s disappearance.
 
With achingly honest prose and riveting characters, The Confusion of Languages plunges readers into a shattering collision between two women and two worlds, affirming Siobhan Fallon as a powerful voice in American fiction and a storyteller not to be missed.

“A gripping, cleverly plotted novel with surprising bite.”—Phil Klay

“Mesmerizing and devastating....Two military wives must explore a modern-day, cultural labyrinth in this insatiable read.”—Sarah McCoy

Ratings and reviews

The Confusion of Languages is a debut novel by Siobhan Fallon. Cassie Hugo’s husband, Dan is a soldier assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Jordan. Dan signed them up to sponsor the Brickshaw family (Crick, Margaret and their son, Mather) without consulting her. Cassie is hoping that Margaret will be a friend, but she has reservations because of their son, Mather. Dan and Cassie have been trying to get pregnant for nine years without success and it has strained their marriage. Cassie explains the rules for women to Margaret (how to act, dress, etc.), but Margaret seems to pay little attention. She is more interested in exploring the city and immersing herself into the culture (breaking many rules along the way). One afternoon Margaret and Cassie are out driving when they are in an auto accident. Margaret needs to go to the police department to pay a fee, but first she returns home. She asks Cassie to watch Mather for her while she is gone. As the hours pass, Cassie gets bored. She finds Margaret’s journal and starts reading it. What Cassie reads makes her concerned for Margaret and guilty. Margaret has not answered her phone, and she never arrived at the police department. Where is Margaret? To discover what led to Margaret’s disappearance, pick up The Confusion of Languages. The Confusion of Languages was a dissatisfying novel (for me). The story starts in the present and then goes back to when the Brickshaw’s arrived in Jordan. It then keeps going back and forth in time (as Cassie reads Margaret’s journal). I found it disconcerting. The book is written in the first person which did not help (Margaret and Cassie’s perspectives). The book started out good, but then the pace slowed down considerably when Cassie started reading Margaret’s journal entries. The story does get more interesting toward the end after Cassie has finished reading the journal (if you make it that far). The Confusion of Languages has two women who are very different (of course). Margaret wanted to be friendly with the locals (a rule breaker) and Cassie was suspicious of them (a rigid rule follower). The author shows readers what women are thinking and feeling as well as exploring female relationships (which always seem to be explosive). The story seemed to be building up to some big revelation, but it was a huge disappointment. The ending was unoriginal and expected. I found the characters (Cassie, Margaret, Crick, Mather, Saleh) to be unpleasant. I really disliked the scenes with Mather (he cried and screamed all the time as well as running rampant making messes and destroying things while leaving disorder in his wake). I was surprised the embassy had not shipped the husbands back to the states based on their wives’ behavior. I give The Confusion of Languages 1 out of 5 stars. We can see how an individual’s make judgements about people that can cloud a situation or relationship. You do not know what goes on in someone else’s life. They suffer from insecurities and doubts too. The book does contain an extreme amount foul language. The Confusion of Languages shows the importance of behaving or following the rules when we are in other countries (especially in the Middle East). We may not like or understand the laws or regulations, but not following them can harm innocent people. The Confusion of Languages was not a pleasant book to read (at least for me).

Margaret and Cassie are military wives, living in Jordan with their husbands who work in the American Embassy. Cassie has been there the longest, so she takes Margaret under her wing, trying to teach her the customs of the country as well as the do’s and don’ts. Cassie is a ‘by the book’ woman and Margaret likes to go against the grain. Margaret craves friendship and her kindness to others has her finding herself in some awkward situations. At the beginning, it seemed she just didn’t care about the customs of the country, but as the story continued, I believe that she truly did care, she just wanted to fit in so desperately and wanted to be liked by everyone, but her somewhat sheltered life and lack of common sense proved to be her downfall. She was very insecure with her marriage which also didn’t help matters much. Cassie was the mother hen figure and really wanted to help Margaret out, but I don’t believe she knew how to go about it. Margaret seemed not to take her advice, so I think she just started to give up on her and not care. Her marriage is not going so well either because she feels her life is incomplete because she can’t have children. After a fender bender, Margaret leaves her adorable son with Cassie while she goes to the police station to take care of business. When Margaret does not come home after a while, Cassie starts to read Margaret’s journal, and she begins to understand her a little more. What the reader begins to realize is that not only is there a lack of communication in their foreign home, there is also a lack of communication amongst themselves which in the end will end dreadfully. It took me a little bit to really get into the story, but when I finally connected with it, I found it impossible to put down. Told in dual point of views and part of the story in a diary format, this tragic story is beautifully written with vivid descriptions and spectacular imagery, providing the reader with a captivating reading experience that is truly unique. Fallon has crafted a meticulously researched and haunting novel that is both riveting and fascinating that will surely keep readers enthralled throughout.

About the author

Siobhan Fallon  is the author of You Know When the Men Are Gone, which won the PEN Center USA Literary Award in Fiction, the Indies Choice Honor Award, and the Texas Institute of Letters Award for First Fiction. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post Magazine, Woman’s Day, Good Housekeeping, Military Spouse, The Huffington Post, and NPR’s Morning Edition, among others. She and her family moved to Jordan in 2011, and they currently live in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.