Maha Gargash

This novel is set in 1950s Dubai. Strong-willed and independent 17-year-old Noora lives with her conservative brother who will not rest until he has seen her married. Despite her objections he betroths her as a third wife to a rich, much older man.

Noora's father had been liberal and reared a resilient woman, able to hold her own, but her situation becomes very challenging. She puts her life at risk when her curiosity leads to a dangerous, passionate liaison with a charming, young man.

This is definitely not modern Dubai and the cultural setting is a far cry from the modern throbbing metropolis that is Dubai now. The book provided a window into the Bedouin lifestyle decades ago, and was surprisingly not translated but penned directly in enjoyable, lyrical English.… (plus d'informations)

Gargash's novel is set in 1950s Dubai -- when the pearl industry was still the main source of wealth, and oil had not yet been discovered within its borders. This is not the Dubai of the UAE, the Burj Khalifa or jet-setting tourism; its residents are Bedouins and merchants living very much within a highly traditional, near medieval, culture.

Noora, a 17-year old Bedouin girl, feels she is holding her family together after her mother's death and her father's descent into semi-madness. But her brother, eager to assure her welfare, promises her in marriage as a third wife to a wealthy pearl merchant. Noora is brought into the family essentially as a breeder -- to provide her elderly husband with the child he has never had. It soon becomes obvious that her husband is sterile. Her immediate rival is the young second wife, her husband's favorite, who has, unfortunately, not provided the heir. The first wife sees the naive young Bedouin as a way back into her husband's favors by creating the opportunity for an heir to be conceived. But Noora is clever and manages to carve out a secure position for herself.

An interesting look into yet another society is which women must try to assure their positions by subtlety and deceit.… (plus d'informations)