The setting of mid-20th Century Dubai is perhaps the most interesting aspect of Maha Gargesh's debut novel, //Sand Fish: A Novel of Dubai//. At seventeen, Noora already carries the burdens of her mother's death and her father's madness when her brother marries her off to a pearl merchant who lives far away from their remote mountain home, in the distant coastal villages of Dubai. There Noora must navigate the shoals of being her husband's third wife and the weighty expectation that she will provide him with the child he craves.

While Garesh's clean prose keep the story moving along at a brisk pace, in the end the novel remains a quite conventional - and ultimately predictable - romance. One sees quite a bit through this window into the life of a far simpler time, though at times the narrative can grow claustrophobic and the melodramatic symbolism can come to feel oppressive. Most disappointing of all, I was excited to read something that would give a window into modern Dubai, with all its complexity and contradictions. Sadly, this novel never gets there, nor offers much that I found memorable.

Reviewed by Jordan Magill

I was so thrilled to read a novel based in Duabi, a fascinating record of culture and behaviour in this area in the '50s.
The book starts in the remote mountains of Ras al Kaimah / Musandam (I think), where two matchmakers arrive to tutor Noora in the art of becoming a wife and pleasing her husband. With this, her wild childhood, running free in the mountains, comes to an abrupt end. She is to be the third wife of a much older man; her main responsibility - to produce a baby.
She is not without temptation from younger men, however, and sails close to the wind on several occasions.

There is some wonderful imagery - a water filled cave hidden in the depths of arid mountains is one example that comes to mind. In addition there was a vivid description of the souk as Noora lands on the shores of Sharjah (??).
The language is also interesting; although extremely readable, there are give-away phrases of the author's background:
".....news crept into Moza's home on whispering tongues".
".....she clutched the bedpost and became one with the bursting clouds".

The position of women is well illustrated, particularly in relation to multiple marriages. The man is all-powerful and the wives have to get along as best they can.
Pearl diving is mentioned too, plus the ensuing health problems of fading eyesight and poor lungs.

We discussed this book at a book group and I'll agree that it's not without its flaws, but for me the reading experience was well worth the 5* that I have given.
More please Ms Gargash.