Set in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom, where Jean lived and taught school (writing for the Arab News too), the story focuses on Sarah, an American doctor from Wisconsin, who marries Ibrahim - "Ib" - a Saudi engineer. Sarah struggles to find a place in her new home and culture, and most of all in the heart of her husband's family. She is particularly unlucky in that her brother-in-law happens to be a member of the so-called religious police, the CPVPV, aka the Mutawa'in, the vice squad, whose formal name is the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
The story takes place in the late 1990's and spans 9/11/2001 and the paroxysms that started to rock Saudi society after that event. Most westerners don't realize what a wake-up call 9/11 was to the Saudis - they realized that violent fanaticism had infiltrated thousands of young men's minds. Saudi society as a whole started to feel the deadly flames of fanaticism.
The climax of the book focuses on her fictionalized version of a national tragedy - a 2002 fire in a girls' school. Few western readers will have heard of the actual fire; but it, like 9/11, was a turning point for many in Saudi Arabia. Ever since, the Kingdom has been trying to unravel the spider web of what the Saudi government calls 'deviant' ideology.
But enough of ideology and politics. Grant's story is gripping and it draws you into an intimate Saudi family circle. Her Saudi characters are drawn with respect, and though having a mutawwa brother-in-law would be any expat woman's worst nightmare, Grant makes it work without stereotyping.
I particularly enjoyed a couple of aspects of the book. Grant sets some of her scenes in an a mysterious 'tell' - a hill with a spring-fed pool in the oasis town of Qatif, where only women are allowed to swim and enjoy the cool water unveiled, far from men's eyes. I visited Qatif many times, and heard of such pools, but never saw one. She also used zaghareed, the Arab woman's cry of high emotion (joy or grief) as a symbol that reoccurs throughout the book. As a musician/writer, I loved having an element of sound be a unifying and transforming element in the story.
Jean and I met briefly when we were both living in Saudi Arabia. We have recently found each other on-line. She was gracious enough to answer some of my questions about her book.
K - How did you come across the idea for the 'tell' - the women's pool - in Qatif?
J - I did visit such a tender spot, only once. It made a profound impression on me. It felt like Eden. I always intended to return, but somehow I never did.
K - Who was your favorite character?
J - Layla was always my favorite - from the very start. She is a 'salt of the earth' woman, full of admirable traits. I met several Saudi ladies who shared her enthusiasms for family and fashion, piety and nicotine.
K - How did the book evolve?
J - The book has an exceedingly long history. It all started one day on the teacher's bus I took every morning to the international school where I taught. I saw a colleague married to a Saudi who was weeping silent tears, and when I sought to comfort her, I learned that her sorrow was due to cross-cultural difficulties with her marriage. I started a novel called "The Tell" in 1985, whose main characters were Claire and Tarek. I set it aside. During the First Gulf War, I took another look at the manuscript and wrote a version which incorporated Saddam Hussein and Jude Osborne, an American spy for Iraq. I found an agent who flogged it, without success, and I dropped it. Shortly after 9/11, I returned to my original theme of love and the collision of cultures.
K - What are you writing now?
J - I'm working on a novel set in France and in Beirut during the early years of the Civil War.
Thank you, Jean for taking the time to talk about the book. And best of luck with your next one! I'm recommending The Burning Veil to my friends.
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