That Other Me

After having read [b:Girls of Riyadh 1476261 Girls of Riyadh Rajaa Alsanea https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1184005681s/1476261.jpg 1570261] I thought I check out another female voice from the Arabian Peninsula. Gargash is definitely the more skilled writer. She offers us a portrait of 3 members of an established yet secretly scandal-ridden Emirati family: the chauvinistic old patriarch of the family, his illegitimate daughter, and his niece. The novel is set in the 90ies and shows the struggle of the two girls to escape a deeply misogynistic culture. We witness the lack of respect and violence shown towards women when we go into the head of the hateful family head, and we also see how these patriarchal values trickle down to the new generation of young Arabic men. The writing is feminist yet nuanced and quite engaging in weaving together the storylines by switching between the three characters. And for a change I actually didn't mind the different POVs. Another great window into a different world.