Finding Fran History and Memory in the Lives of Two Women by (Lois W. Banner. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998. 243 pages.)

Abstract

Finding Fran is a memoir of two women, once best friends, who take very
different paths. The author is now a feminist history professor and her high
school friend, Fran, is Noura-a Muslim living in Egypt Banner looks
back on their lives to find out what led one to feminism and the other to
Islam. Unfortunately, while Banner offers many interesting insights into the
lives of both women, she never fully answers this fundamental question.
The book is divided into four parts. Part I, "My Story (1944-1952),"
explores Banner's family history as well as her life up Wltil high school. She
traces the lives of various family members in order to discover how they
affected her childhood and her outlook on life. In the second part, "Fran &
Me (1952-1956)," Banner tells the story of their high school friendship.
It is a friendship of two smart and artistically talented girls, who are often
bold and passionate in a time and place that glorified passive, feminine
women. Together they navigate the seemingly esoteric system of football
players and prom queens without ever really belonging to that system.
In college they separate, Banner to UCLA and Fran to Stanford. This is
the beginning of their two different paths. Banner takes to academia and
feminism, while Fran is drawn to the various spiritual movements of the
1960s. These years are covered in the third section, "Passages (1956-
1982)." Banner includes chapters on their college life and the years
immediately following, and then delves into her life as an academic and a
feminist.
The last section covers Fran/Noura's life between 1967 and 1990. She
studies Zen and other spiritual movements, such as the Gurdjieff system. In
late 1960s, she moves to a commune in New Mexico. There she discovers
westernized Sufi practices that have been cut from their Islamic base. Her
continuing quest leads her to study Islam. She eventually becomes a
Muslim and a member of a traditional Sufi order. Later, she studies in Saudi
Arabia, and currently, she residues in Egypt.
In keeping with the personal nature of the book, Banner includes a
collection of photographs ranging from old family snapshots to the two
women together in high school in 1956 and again in Egypt in 1992. Much
of Banner's analysis comes in the prologue and the epilogue. She also
includes detailed notes for each chapter ...