A review by casspro
Women of Sand and Myrrh by Hanan Al-Shaykh

3.0

There are four women central to this novel's structure are more alike than they are portrayed. While they are all struggling in their own circumstances to find their place, blend in, stand out, or make a name for themselves, few of them try to get out of their situations. They create their own prisons, but don't ever try to escape. Suha is the only one who, after pages and pages of complaining and voluntary isolation, chooses to gather herself together and find a way out. Tamr has her temper tantrums and histrionic episodes in an attempt to manipulate those around her and when those don't work, she pouts. Suzanne is so wrapped up in keeping her lover interested, that she disregards her husband and children; when her lover succumbs to an STD, she distances herself completely from him and his family that she becomes close to and washes her hands of the entire situation. Nur is just bat-shit crazy and intense in her obsession over Suha. The characters aren't very likable, but there are moments of sympathy and sadness and beauty.

The novel itself gives a good overview of what everyday life is like in various Middle-Eastern countries. As an American female, one has to put aside any preconceived notions of female civil rights to fully submerge into the culture of this novel. The descriptions of the desert and the people are beautiful and very realistic; you can almost feel the sand blowing in your face and smell the incense smoke in the air.