In Kuwait between the two Gulf Wars the lives of the rich and poor continue as servants and masters, and American consultants live their lives, as best they can, waiting for Saddam’s next move.
Emanuella is a housemaid for Mufeeda, the upper class wife of a doctor. Kit is newly arrived, the wife of an American businessman seeking her bearings in an alien culture. Santana is trapped in the household she is supposed to serve and Hasaan, a well educated modern Arab woman, is seeking her own place in a changing society.
Each woman has her trials and tribulations facing religion, family, partnership and society. The Kuwait society is rife with factions and traditions and no one knows when the next war will come.
In a beautifully executed series of personal stories Anastasia Hobbet offers her readers a cross section of daily life and greater ambitions in a world of uncertainty where the common themes of partnership, religion and family appeal to the morals of each woman in unique ways.
The recognition of need and privilege that compel each of these characters to take action on the behalf of justice and morality bring them together.
This is a wonderful way to realize the depth of difference within a culture far removed from our own and yet with many similarities. With engaging style and adept prose Hobbet brings her past as a freelance journalist who lived in Kuwait and traveled extensively in the middle east, India and North Africa to her second novel.
Cecie O’Bryon England is the Editor of Arts and Literature at Donne Tempo Magazine.
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