The Desert Contract

Lathrop, John. The desert contract, New York : Scribner, 2008.

This is a romantic suspenseful story about an American  businessman Steve, who returns to living in a small ex-pat community in Saudi Arabia and rekindles a romance with a now married Irish woman, Helen.  Steve and Helen struggle to keep their love alive amid political unrest including a sudden Shiite coup that threatens the unpopular and corrupt regime.  Lathrop knows the Middle East well and draws from his own experience of living and working there for 15 years.  This is a fine first novel.
The link to this author's website is
http://jplathrop.net/

The Story of Zahra

Al-Shaykh, Hanan. The story of zahra, London : Quartet Books, 1991.

This Lebanese author recounts an unsettling story of sexuality and violence in war-torn Beirut and West Africa.  It is the story of a young woman of the Shia community in South Lebanon, who is haunted by dark memories of deception and abuse in her early years. Zahra is sent off to West Africa to live with her uncle. After an unsuccessful marriage there, she returns to a Beirut which is devastated by civil war, explosions, shooting and death.  As the war intensifies, Zahra falls in love for the first time with a sniper and wants a normal life, but it is too late and she becomes the victim of the city’s mindless violence, personified by the sniper.
This novel is a suspenseful story with a plot that has lots of twists and turns.

The Jewel of Medina

Jones, Sherry. The jewel of medina, New York : Beaufort Books, 2008.

This story is a historical fiction novel, set against the backdrop of  7th century Arabia and is about one of the Prophet Mohammed’s favourite wives A’isha bint Abu Bakr.  Much controversy has surrounded this book when it was dumped by Random House publishers prior to its scheduled publication in August 2008.  Finally the rights were picked up by Beaufort Books in the U.S.A.  Jones writes the novel from A’isha’s point of view, the story is written in the first person and covers Aisha’s childhood until the death of Mohammed when she was 18 years old.  The book lacks substance and becomes a fluffy historical romance novel instead of the story of a girl raised in the 7th century and the birth of Islam.

Beirut Blues

Al-Shaykh, Hanan. Beirut Blues. New York : Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 1996.

In this novel, sex is not the driving force as it was in the Al-Shaykh’s earlier novel, the story of Zahra.  Through the unsent letters of her narrator, Asmahran, a wealthy Lebanese woman, the author explores the profound transformations that are happening in her beloved war-torn Beirut.  The letters are addressed to the people, places and events that have shaped her life.  Through these letters, the reader learns of the constant dangers in the once cosmopolitan city that she loved, Beirut.  It explores the frustrations of dealing with the militia, or of not having enough food and electricity.  Asmahran is torn between staying in Beirut or fleeing religious and political persecution like many of her friends.
The author vividly portrays the tragedy of contemporary Lebanon.

The Yacoubian Building

Al-Aswany, Alaa. The yacoubian building.  London :  Harper Perennial, 2007.

This novel is about how the lives of the inhabitants of an apartment in downtown Cairo, intertwine. Religious fervour jostles with promiscuity, modern life with ancient culture.  The destinies of a fading aristocrat, a sultry voluptuous siren, a devout young student, feeling the pull of Islamic fundamentalism, a gay newspaper editor and a corrupt and corpulent politician come together.  This controversial Arab novel represents the political corruption, the sexual repression, the religious fundamentalism and the modern hopes of Egypt. This book was written before the Egyptian uprising in 2011 and it would be interesting to see how much life has changed since then.
A story by best selling Eygptian author Alaa Al Aswany.

Sweet Dates in Basra

Jiji, Jessica.  Sweet dates in Basra. New York : Harper Collins, 2010.

This story is set in the tumultuous years of the Second World War in Iraq.  Kathmiya is a young Marsh Arab, living in a village of Iraq who is sent by her family to work as a servant girl in the unfamiliar city of Basra. 
Kathmiya meets Shafiq, a young Iraqi Jewish boy, her mistress’s younger brother and although the attraction between Kathimiya and Shafiq is mutal, there is a massive cultural divide between this Iraqi Jewish family and her identity as a Marsh Arab.
This  novel brings together the conflict and violence between Jews and Muslims as  Hilter's shadow falls across the country.  It is a vibrant read and evokes 1940's Iraq.

Mirage

Khashoggi, Soheir.  Mirage, London : Batam Books, 1996

This is a powerful tale of romance, drama and revenge. The author deals with such contemporary issues as Islamic treatment of women, battered women and multiculturalism.  Set in the fictitious Arab country of al-Remal, the author traces the life of Amira Badir, the daughter of a wealthy Middle Eastern family, who  faces the limitations of living in a traditional Arabic household.  When her arranged marriage to the wealthy Prince Ali al-Rashad becomes a nightmare of beatings and abuse, she manages to escape to the west with her infant son.  She takes on a new identity in the United States, and  discovers true love and a fulfilling career but lives in the fear that she will be found and killed. Khashoggi is a product of an Islamic culture, similar to the fictious country of al-Remal and engages her audience in a suspenseful and entertaining story.