Being an expatriate myself, when I heard about the release of
this book, I was very interested in reading it. The fact that the author
is from England, and has had many expatriate experiences including
living in Dubai, I thought it would be a very good read. I most
certainly was not disappointed.
The
book had me hooked from the first page. I had difficulty putting it
down. The book opens with Maya preparing for her move to Dubai with her
husband who is a pilot and has taken up a position based in the Middle
East. Maya has been running a coffee shop with two friends, a job that
she enjoys a lot and will miss: not only the stimulation provided by the
work but also the women who she is close to. When she arrives in Dubai
it comes as something of a shock to discover that her passport has a
visa in it stating that she cannot work. She is shattered at this and
wonders what she will be able to do with her time. One thing that she
does is create a blog of her culinary experiences and links it back to
her friends and their coffee shop back home in England.
Jo Parfitt brings Dubai to life in this book. I loved all the women characters that she created in the book, each with her own interesting story. I liked the fact that many nationalities were represented by the women in the book. What I also liked about the book is the fact that, just because the sun shines, does not mean that life is all rosy and cheery. Events happen and things can go wrong. Not one of the characters is boring. Their lives are intricately described. I liked the fact that Maya did not just accept the fact that she could not work. She had to find a way to be active in the new community in which she finds herself.
The food of Dubai is also brought to life in the pages of this page. I found myself craving dates after finishing. Even better is the fact that many of the recipes are included at the back of the book.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has experienced expatriate life, whether in an exotic location or not. I do hope that the author will be writing another fictional work, as she is best known for her non-fiction books.
The
book had me hooked from the first page. I had difficulty putting it
down. The book opens with Maya preparing for her move to Dubai with her
husband who is a pilot and has taken up a position based in the Middle
East. Maya has been running a coffee shop with two friends, a job that
she enjoys a lot and will miss: not only the stimulation provided by the
work but also the women who she is close to. When she arrives in Dubai
it comes as something of a shock to discover that her passport has a
visa in it stating that she cannot work. She is shattered at this and
wonders what she will be able to do with her time. One thing that she
does is create a blog of her culinary experiences and links it back to
her friends and their coffee shop back home in England.Jo Parfitt brings Dubai to life in this book. I loved all the women characters that she created in the book, each with her own interesting story. I liked the fact that many nationalities were represented by the women in the book. What I also liked about the book is the fact that, just because the sun shines, does not mean that life is all rosy and cheery. Events happen and things can go wrong. Not one of the characters is boring. Their lives are intricately described. I liked the fact that Maya did not just accept the fact that she could not work. She had to find a way to be active in the new community in which she finds herself.
The food of Dubai is also brought to life in the pages of this page. I found myself craving dates after finishing. Even better is the fact that many of the recipes are included at the back of the book.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has experienced expatriate life, whether in an exotic location or not. I do hope that the author will be writing another fictional work, as she is best known for her non-fiction books.
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