AUTHOR: Zoë Ferraris
COPYRIGHT: 2008
PAGES: 357
PUBLISHER: Little, Brown
SETTING: Contemporary Saudi Arabia
TYPE: Mystery
SERIES: First in a series
This is a mystery set in Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia. It's written by a Western author who lived in the country for a while with her Saudi husband, but the characters themselves are Saudi.In a blazing hot desert in Saudi Arabia, a search party is dispatched to find a missing young woman. Thus begins a novel that offers rare insight into the inner workings of a country in which women must wear the abaya in public or risk denunciation by the religious police; where ancient beliefs, taboos, and customs frequently clash with a fast-moving, technology-driven modern world.
The missing woman is Nouf Shrawi, one of several sheltered teenaged daughters of a powerful local family. Hired to track her and her potential abductor is Nayir, a solitary, pious desert guide of dubious origin, and a friend of the family. As Nayir uncovers clues that only serve to deepen the mystery behind Nouf's disappearance, he teams up with Katya, a liberated Saudi woman who is engaged to one of Nouf's brothers.
As they move closer to the truth, the pair's detective work unveils layers of secrets. In a land of prayers, purity, and patriarchy, the dreams of mere mortals often go unrealized, and the consequences of misbehavior for both men and women are disastrous
The plot concerns the disappearance of a 16-year-old girl, Nouf, the child of a wealthy family. A lorry and a camel have disappeared at the same time, so whether she left of her own accord or was taken, she seems to have disappeared into the desert. The family want to find her without any scandal, as she was about to get married and they'd rather like that to go ahead, so rather than going to the police, they ask Nayif for help.
Nayif is a friend of the family, and a man who knows a lot about the desert, as he often works as a guide. The hope is that this will allow him to track Nouf, but it's not that easy to find her. Nayif is forced to accept the help of Katya, Nouf's brother's fiancée, who works at the forensic department, and together they work to find out the truth. Nouf's body is soon discovered, but the investigation doesn't end there. Nayir feels the obligation to uncover what happens, even if some in Nouf's family are not on board with his continuing enquiries.
I really liked this. The mystery itself is fine and the plotting ok, but where the book was really good was with the characters and setting. Nayif is a quite conservative and devout man, which really wasn't what I was expecting, for some reason. He's a bit of an outsider, being of Palestinian origin, and this is something he's made to feel often. Katya was more expected, a modern, educated woman who is determined to have a career, but is struggling somewhat with the strictures placed on her by her society. Where the book shines is in the interactions between these two. Neither is particularly comfortable with the other at first, but it turns out there is great chemistry between them. I don't mean necessarily in a sexual sense (although that's not completely absent), but in the sense of two people who click with each other. It's understated here, but it's clear that this is a relationship that will continue in further books, and I really want to read more.
The setting is also great. Societal mores and expectations (and laws) determine how the investigation progresses and how the characters are able to relate to each other. I have no idea how accurate it all is obviously, but I enjoyed reading it. And maybe because the author is not Saudi herself, she makes a point of subtly highlighting the little details that a Saudi author might take for granted and not think worth a mention, like the fact that people keep oven gloves in their car's glove compartments, as car door handles can get so hot that you'll get proper burns if you touch them with your hands.
MY GRADE: A solid B.
I read this under the title FINDING NOUF and loved it. A place and characters I would never experience ordinarily, which thanks to the author's perspective from having lived in Jeddah as the wife of a Palestinian Bedouin (ircc), really opened my mind and eyes.
ReplyDeleteAt first, when Nayif meets Katya and is so dismissive of and uncomfortable around her, I thought I wouldn't be able to keep reading, I disliked him so much. And then I grew to like him a great deal. The idea of the jailers becoming the jailed is what happens in such a totally lopsided society; men think they are keeping women safe/pure/marginalized when the reality is that they are imprisoning themselves if there isn't a family to make the necessary introductions. What is a devout man to do when he isn't allowed to meet women on his own?
All three books are intriguing and insightful. I recommend all of them and the end is most satisfying.
Darlynne: I didn't realise the author's husband had a similar background to Nayif's. I only mentioned that in passing in my review, but that aspect was one of the most interesting to me, in terms of what it meant for how he was able to operate in that very restrictive society. Your point about the negative impacts on the men of a society where they hold all the formal power is really thought-provoking, and I think you're absolutely right. I hadn't thought of it quite that way!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'll definitely be reading on!