Book Review: Bride of the Sea by Eman Quotah

 

I´ve initially read Bride of the Sea by Saudi-American researcher and nonfiction writer Eman Quotah in preparation for an incoming Zoom-bookclub in January next year. As I am very interested in reading books on topics inspired by or set in the Middle East, I couldn´t wait any longer and finished the book within 3 days. I didn´t know exactly what to expect but I wished from the bottom of my heart that the book has a mature take on relationships and the Middle East in general. At a great extent, I was rewarded intellectually.

There are a couple of ambitious takes of the book: the timeline covers around 50 years - very rich in events, particularly in terms of US-Middle East/Saudi Arabia interactions such as Iraq´s invasion of Kuwait, the take of modernity in the Saudi Kingdom, the 11/9 terrorist attacks -, from the 1970s until 2018. Thus, it covers  It has an impressive cast of characters, all wisely organised around the main characters of the book. It switches from one POV to another in a very skillfull way adding important elements and perspective to the story. However, the timeline switch from one period to another is sometimes confusing and it may disconnect the reader from the narrative. 

Another aspect that I appreciated in the book is the very matter-of-factly cultural approach on Saudi society, which avoid the dramatic perspective on simply exploring facts as a backdrop for creating a story.

Bride of the Sea starts with the story of a mismatch: First cousins Muneer and Saeedah are temporarily relocated to the US. Muneer plans to divorce her and expects her to bring soon their daughter Hanadi back to Saudi where he is working as a journalist. Suddenly though, she will disappear with the girl and it would take many years until Muneer will meet again their daughter, which was initially told that her father died. She grieved for a death father which was not death, and the mother´s decision definitely influenced not only her life - a life on the run she will only later understand its reason - but will affect her level of trust in people in general.

Although Saeedah is present throughout the story only by her name or through her decisions and their reflection, she is the least represented character in the book. She is not allowed to intervene or even to defend herself. This is an important shortcoming of the story in my opinion.  

Despite the fact of being propelled by a serious cultural context - the right of the father of being exclusively in charge of the children following the divorce - it avoids playing the card of prejudice because in fact the issue is more complex and there is much more to explore. 

What I also appreciated by this book is the unique way in which characters related to each other through dialogues. Their relationships are shaped by the dialogue between them and in my opinion, this is an unique way to create insightful stories while developping the main story. 

Bride of the Sea adds to the recent literary history of the Middle East an unique Saudi-American voice exploring through a particular geographic and cultural setting, general human interpretations and meanings. Now, I can only wait until my bookclub reunion in a couple of weeks to share my opinions about the book while curious about other participants interpretations.

Rating: 4.5 stars