Raised in a two room shack by her strict Oklahoma grandfather, Gin Mitchell knows a better life awaits her when she marries hometown hero Mason McPhee. Even so, nothing can prepare her for what's to come when Mason takes a job with the Arabian American Oil company in 1960s Saudi Arabia.
Gin and Mason are given a home with marble floors, a houseboy to cook their meals, and a gardener to tend the sandy patch out back. Even among the veiled women and strict laws of shariah, Gin's life has become the stuff of fairy tales. But when the body of a young Bedouin woman washes up on the shores of the Persian Gulf and Mason disappears, her world starts to close in around her.
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"LOVED this book - best book I've read in a long time. It's the story of a young woman figuring out who she is and what she wants. At times she seemed selfish and impatient to me and I had to keep reminding myself that she is 18-19 years old and was brought up in extreme poverty and religious austerity. So when she and her husband arrive overseas and he works 2 week tours at a time, she is left to figure out what to do with herself. She can't do housework because that would put out her houseboy (who might otherwise starve), she can't garden because that would put out her gardener (who might otherwise starve), she can't leave the base without her husband's permission - it's like she's beating her head against the wall with everything she tries to do. She becomes more reckless in behavior and frustrated with constantly being subjugated by men - first her grandpa, then her husband, then all the men/rules in Saudi Arabia. The story is very well written and there is momentum throughout the story - you know that this will all come to a head at some point. Well worth reading." — Lisa (5 out of 5 stars)
"LOVED this book - best book I've read in a long time. It's the story of a young woman figuring out who she is and what she wants. At times she seemed selfish and impatient to me and I had to keep reminding myself that she is 18-19 years old and was brought up in extreme poverty and religious austerity. So when she and her husband arrive overseas and he works 2 week tours at a time, she is left to figure out what to do with herself. She can't do housework because that would put out her houseboy (who might otherwise starve), she can't garden because that would put out her gardener (who might otherwise starve), she can't leave the base without her husband's permission - it's like she's beating her head against the wall with everything she tries to do. She becomes more reckless in behavior and frustrated with constantly being subjugated by men - first her grandpa, then her husband, then all the men/rules in Saudi Arabia. The story is very well written and there is momentum throughout the story - you know that this will all come to a head at some point. Well worth reading."
" I was intrigued by the Arab/ American aspect of the book interwoven with the gender roles of both societies and how it molds Gin's experience. It was very fast-paced and I sometimes lost track of the story. I should probably read again to capture more detail. "
" A fascinating story, juxtaposes emerging women's rights, Arab culture and the oil companies of the late 1960's and early 1970's. I highly recommend it. "
" This was just an okay book to me, it took me awhile to get into the story and I had to make myself finish...the writing was good , I just didn't like the story very much. "
" I'm so close to giving this 4 stars; I really liked it. However, I was just really disappointed in the ending. Felt there should have been something more, I guess. "
" I don't have much to say about this one. It started off pretty good and it had potential, but I lost interest. The dialogue didn't flow well and the actions of the characters seemed forced. "
" I found this story of a woman and her husband traveling to Arabia for his job in the oil fields in 1967 very absorbing in the first half. Then I got more and more upset with the main character until the ending, which was a total letdown for me. "
" I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Characters could have been developed a little bit better, but learning about the compounds in Saudi Arabia was fascinating (and reasonably accurate based on my research later) "
" Interesting setting; haunting narrator. "
" Could not put down...loved reading Gin's story! "
" ok but not my type of book not enough to draw me in "
" Liked the style of writing and the first few chapters. Wasn't compelled by the characters or the overall story. The conversations were also tiresome. "
" It seemed to me that she just got tired of writing and ended the book. The beginning was very detailed and drawn out and then all of the action and excitement happens at the end of the book and then when you are ready for a great ending, it is over. "
" I thought this was a very interesting book. The writing was good and it gave interesting insight into the lives of the American women living in the middle east. "
" It was a totally engrossing story. There were lots of twists and turns and the characters were really interesting. It was hard to tell the good guys and the bad guys apart sometimes. I found myself totally lost in the story. "
" Really amazing book about Aramco in Saudi Arabia during the 1960s. It looks like it would be a girly book and the main character is a female but truly worth the read for anyone. I felt like I learned a ton that I didn't know. Richly drawn characters, fast read. "
" I was prepared to like this book but did not find any character particularly likeable "
" Beautiful. But way, way, way too depressing. I am now sad. "
Kim Barnes is the author of two memoirs and two previous novels, including A Country Called Home, which received the 2009 PEN Center USA Literary Award in fiction and was named a best book of 2008 by the Washington Post, the Kansas City Star, and the Oregonian. She is the recipient of the PEN/Jerard Fund Award for an emerging woman writer of nonfiction, and her first memoir, In the Wilderness, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Her work has appeared in a number of publications and anthologies, including the New York Times; MORE magazine; O Magazine; Good Housekeeping; Fourth Genre; The Georgia Review; Shenandoah; and the Pushcart Prize anthology. Barnes is a professor of writing at the University of Idaho and lives with her husband, the poet Robert Wrigley, on Moscow Mountain.
Marguerite Gavin is a seasoned theater veteran, a five-time nominee for the prestigious Audie Award, and the winner of numerous AudioFile Earphones and Publishers Weekly awards. She has been an actor, director, and audiobook narrator for her entire professional career. With over four hundred titles to her credit, her narration spans nearly every genre, from nonfiction to mystery, science fiction, fantasy, romance, and children’s fiction. AudioFile magazine says, “Marguerite Gavin…has a sonorous voice, rich and full of emotion.”
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