Contemporary novel set in a Middle East Gulf state involving American expatriate executive and his artist wife, a conflict between minority Sunnia royal family and majority Shia population, romance between the American artist, Gina, and local archaeologist, Marwan, against a backfrop of political turmoil, cultural conflicts.
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About the Author
Kathryn Abdul-Baki is an American-Arab, born in Washington, DC, and raised and educated in the Middle East and America. She moves seamlessly between Western and Middle Eastern sensibilities in drawing her characters and settings. She has written two other novels and a book of short stories, two of which won awards. Her fifth book, a novel, "Hotels: A Marriage in Four Seasons", is set in capitals around the world, but is the first work by Abdul-Baki with completely American characters.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Challenge of Cross-Cultural Discovery,
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Sands of Zulaika (Hardcover)
"Sands of Zulaika" is a multi-level book. It examines issues of cross-cultural adaption, the way some individuals transition to a different culture and explore and enjoy the new while other retreat to as close to their native cultural environment as possible, avoiding exposure to their new cultural environment by immersing themselves in work, isolated living compounds, or other means. It also shows some of the relational strains that may occur when spouses chose different ways to cope with the cultural change.
The author is enormously gifted in creating a sense of place. Her eye for the essential elements of location and environment and her fluency in describing them are absolutely outstanding. Her first-hand knowledge of Arab and American cultures make her uniquely qualified to explore the interactions of these two cultures. A fun read with a wealth of detail on Arab culture and how some Americans thrive or wither in it. Some explore and grow, some retreat within themselves and fail to find the potential treasures of a different place. Read it to learn many things through this beautifully crafted story.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Stunning imagery--with a good storyteller in charge,
By Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Sands of Zulaika (Hardcover)
(The author is an American who has lived in Iran, Kuwait, Beruit and Jerusalem, where she also attended school. So, she knows about other cultures and living in a foreign land as an expatriate.)
Gina Monroe is an artist who follows her corporate ladder-climbing husband to Abu Samra where he is in charge of building an electric plant, much needed by the small villages. She paints; he works. They attend embassy parties with other American and British expatriates working there, and their wives. Then Gina becomes interested in a local man who is an archeologist. She helps him at his digs for ancient history of Abu Samra. Gina is unhappy in her life and her marriage, and those digs are a wonderful distraction--as it Dr. Marwan Jassim. The author captures how a painter (Gina Monroe) might see things differently than others. Her descriptions of various colors of the water, sand, sky, and buildings were so vivid you could see her surroundings. I loved that in this book. The author is a good storyteller, weaving history, architecture, archeology, foods, and romance together nicely. The cultural differences of customs, dress, religion, privacy--all are an important part of the story. She used the correct word for clothing the women wore there, food they ate, and helps us by explaining what the word means for part of dress, food, customs, etc. The tension between the two worlds--uprisings of militants, long-held fears of villagers, ruling families (shieks)--serve to put us right into that time and place. Gina was braver than many of the other wives--which means that often she was breaking the unspoken rules for safety (and other things) of foreigners. Gina had her own conflicts about her marriage, and Marwan. What was he to her--and her to him? Did her marriage stand a chance? On a side trip to Cairo, Egypt, a visit to the Sphinx and talking about fabrics, sights and sounds, the book became like a well-written travel guide. You'll learn about differences--and those who accept and those who do not accept them nor want to learn about different things and people and cultures. Published by a Colorado small press, the book would have benefited with a final proofreading to eliminate numerous word problems that distracted me. Armchair Interview says: Well worth your read if you like a strong fiction with many elements to keep you turning the page.
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