FINDING NOUF

As a western woman and a former resident of Saudi Arabia, who speaks, reads and writes Arabic, I heartily recommend Finding Nouf. In addition to its well-structured plot and stunning prose, I want to point out some of the things I liked about it since I lived in the city where the story takes place. Several reviewers have noted that the city of Jeddah comes through as a character in the book, and I wholeheartedly agree. More freewheeling and less restrictive than the capital Riyadh, Jeddah is a behemoth-sized eddy in the current of humanity where eccentrics turn up and stay for decades. Ferraris has captured its spirit. She gently leads the reader into the home of a wealthy family, a modest walk-up apartment in the old quarter, "Club Jed" - a foreigners' compound, as well as markets, offices and restaurants. She also walks the reader through the puzzling issues one faces when trying to negotiate daily life in that social system with its curious customs. Then she shows how it's common and even acceptable to break some of the rules, if it's done discreetly and for good reason. The book's pacing, too, rings true to me. That's how things happen there. When writing about men and women in Saudi Arabia, it's easy for western writers to slip into a patronizing or judgmental tone. Author Ferraris' never does this. She respects each character and the dilemmas they face. I found her supporting characters particularly authentic, such as Miss Hijazi's father, her driver or `escort', and the optometrist. They all reflect the fascinating jumble of humanity in Jeddah. Most important of all, Ferraris' portrayal of Katya Hijazi is splendid. She's a fine example of sensible and intelligent young Saudi women who don't sit back complaining about the social system. Instead, they get the job done within the system and in spite of it. Mabruk (congratulations) to Ferraris. Please bring us more adventures of Nayir and Katya.

This is the book that I have recommended most, in recent months. Although it follows a standard detective procedural format, it delves into Saudi culture in a way that few novels can. The protagonist is intriguing, because his traditional Palestinian-Bedouin attitudes should be repugnant, but are treated respectfully, and help contribute to the reader's understanding of Arab society. The lives of wealthy Saudi women (especially those with traditional Bedouin origins) are portrayed sympathetically and convincingly. I hope that this is the first in a series of detective novels featuring the desert guide, and the medical examiner, as protagonists.

Despite the fact that the Middle East's role in world affairs increases as each decade passes, most Westerners have only a hazy comprehension of the region's culture and its people. And, ever since the chain of events that began with the September 2001 murders in New York City, what we do know is largely distorted by the media coverage that tends to deal almost exclusively with the terrorist segment of the Muslim world. That makes a novel like Finding Nouf, one that tells its story through the eyes of ordinary Saudi citizens trying to do the right thing despite the constraints of Saudi Arabian society, one of the more intriguing books of 2008. When sixteen-year-old Nouf ash-Shrawi disappears from her wealthy family's isolated home, it is at first hoped that she has simply run away, perhaps suffering a bad case of nerves about her impending marriage. But an examination of her body after she has been found dead in the desert leaves little doubt that Nouf has been murdered and Nayir ash-Sharqi, a family friend and desert tracker who failed in his quest to find her before she died, feels both the guilt of that failure and a responsibility to determine exactly what happened to the girl. Nayir finds a ready ally in Katya Hijazi, a lab technician who, like Nayir, is a friend of the Shrawi family (she is the fiancée of Nouf's adopted brother, Othman) and who has been asked to keep an eye on the official investigation into Nouf's death. But Katya is more than Nayir, a strictly religious Palestinian who has had only limited contact with Saudi women, knows how to handle. He finds her aggressiveness and willingness to display her face in all but the most public of venues to be shocking, especially when he learns that she is engaged to his good friend, Othman. But even more shocking to Nayir is his realization that Katya's personality and behavior make her so attractive to him that he has to continually remind himself that she is to be married to his best friend. Part of the charm of Finding Nouf is watching the relationship between Nayir and Katya evolve during their investigation into one of mutual respect and affection, something that neither could have dreamed would ever happen. Nayir and Katya link their individual skills in a way that slowly uncovers the facts surrounding Nouf's disappearance and death and, although what they find brings them dangerously close to disturbing truths about the Shrawi family, they remain determined to bring her killer to justice. Zoë Ferraris has created two very likable amateur Saudi sleuths who deserve a sequel, a hope that the book's ending seems, in fact, to encourage. Finding Nouf is a fun mystery that, along the way, allows the reader a look at ordinary Saudi citizens and their relationship to each other and to the wealthier class. It explores both the formal and informal relationship between Saudi men and women and wonderfully illustrates the pressures felt by both sexes in a society willing to deal out harsh pu

Finding Nouf is an intriguing, often suspenseful murder mystery set against the backdrop of simmering generational differences in modern Saudi Arabian society. The two central characters, Nayir al-Sharqi and Katya Hijazi, represent opposite ends of the great divide between the older Wahhabist Sunni establishment and an emerging, decidedly less observant younger generation of Saudis. Their unusual partnership, entered into in order to solve the mystery, exemplifies some of the struggles occurring between older, traditional Arab men and younger, more liberated women relative to acceptable roles for women in society. Nayir, actually a Palestinian, is almost a caricature of the pious Muslim. Despite the bonds imposed on him by restrictive Saudi society, he longs for romance and struggles to reconcile his need for companionship with his strict adherence to Sharia law. Interestingly, he seems to chafe against those oppressive bonds, particularly as they restrict his ability to work with women. Even making eye contact with a woman causes him great angst. As a result of this personal torment and the baggage associated with a previously failed relationship, Nayir is in a sort of self-imposed romantic exile - living a Spartan, reclusive existence on a sailboat in Jeddah harbor. Katya by contrast represents the newly empowered younger generation of Saudi women entirely comfortable in their hard-won independence. While complying with such government-enforced customs as remaining covered from head to toe in public, Katya reaches considerably higher professionally than many Saudi women - even earning a Ph.D. Employed as a medical examiner, she spreads her wings in investigating a murder that strikes uncomfortably close to home - the home, that is, of her fiancé. Nevertheless, she is both patient and determined in her quest to solve the crime and to bring the perpetrator to justice. Finding Nouf is loaded with twists and turns as Katya joins forces with Nayir in a sort of Sarah Sidle (CSI) meets Columbo. To this odd couple of an investigative team Katya brings knowledge of modern medical forensics while Nayir brings a dogged persistence combined with ample experience in good old-fashioned gumshoe detective work. Their diverging points of view give way to a productive, though at times uneasy, professional collaboration, and their disagreement regarding traditional male and female roles eases into a casual social relationship. Yes, they even go on a date - though Katya (predictably) brings her obligatory (and omnipresent) escort. In Finding Nouf, Zoe Ferraris quite deftly captures the struggles occurring in modern Saudi society today while at the same time entertaining the reader with a genuine whodunit in the desert. What make this story so compelling is the author's depiction of the challenges of living in a closed, devoutly Muslim society and the effect those challenges can have on members of that society. Particularly for younger Saudis

I really enjoyed this book both as a mystery and as a way of learning more about Saudi society. How does a man solve the mysterious death of a woman when he can't question those who knew her best because they are also women? Very interesting characters and details about the Saudis. How do you eat an ice cream cone when wearing a head covering? Who purchases the bride's wedding clothes? I hope the author writes more novels. From the jacket info, it sounds like she's led a fascinating life!