The black tents of the Bedu have been replaced by aluminium shacks. Im just relieved I didnt meet anyone like her when I was there! Another brandy?, Keep the young lady sober, the businessman advised. There would be harassment. As ever; highly recommended. He swayed toward her with the pot. Youre with me?, Never mind. Shes got the customs to face, and its her first time. Try again. Theyre always building, you see, money no object, but they dont think ahead. A touch on her arm woke her. After all, its not forever, is it?, No, its not for ever. But from what he had heard it was a part of the world in which womens decisions did not operate. More brandy? the steward inquired. It's written as a memoir of her 4 year stay in Saudi Arabia for her husband's work during her younger life. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 13, 2022. At least, Im glad I went there. Onward. Naked, just a line drawing. Souvenir. Its always late, the man said tetchily. Of course, if you fly Saudia, theyre always late as well., Too often. It happened that at the time when Andrew Shore was ready to move on, Turadups Saudi Arabian manager, a man called Eric Parsons, was in Johannesburg trawling for expertise. Yes, it was definitely a spooky story, and it was no surprise that Mantel's characters were so repulsed by the environment that they were driven to flee its hidden dangers. Then he picked up the receiver; the lines were not down that day, and it was a mere ten minutes before he got an answer from the operator in Gaborone. I can tell youve never been in the Kingdom. As I said, I didn't actually find this a pleasant read, but I did appreciate the very fine writing. Or hold it back. Your salary is paid in riyals, tax-free. Sure on that brandy? the steward said; and moved away. Sleeping executives stirred now, dribbling a little onto their airline blankets. It's the subtleties of the conversations that the reader should pay attention to, since they hold the key to the subsequent tragedies. They treat him like some bit of a kid.. The final novel of the Wolf Hall trilogy, bestseller list and won critical acclaim around the globe. . He could hear women laughing, and what was perhaps crockery being smashed. They told her to bring flat sandals, British postage stamps, a bottle of Bovril. If you want a book that has a nice clear 'end' where all the ends are tied up then that's not the way Mantel writes. But since the early 1970s the Middle East had been what they called their major theater of operations. She is the author of fifteen books, including A Place of Greater Safety, Beyond Black, and the memoir Giving Up the Ghost. Long before Hilary Mantel became famous for her acclaimed Booker Prize historical novels, I knew her as an author of novels like Beyond Black (2006) with its dark humour and macabre undertones. Gazelles are hunted from the backs of pickup trucks. See all 7 questions about Eight Months on Ghazzah Street, Goodreads' Top Reviewers Pick the 'It' Book of Summer. Were relinquishing this route next year, he said. Sorry, there was a problem loading this page. May 1st 2004 Eight Months on Ghazzah Street Show full title Written by Hilary Mantel Narrated by Sandra Duncan 3 / 5 ( 100 ratings ) About this audiobook When Frances Shore joins her engineer husband in Jeddah she is warned not to ask questions. I suspect that most of the women I know would chafe at life in Saudi Arabia, even now when the western media is trumpeting reforms that allow women to travel, divorce, and They dont have maps., Too bloody secretive to have maps. Fantastic book. Later, in the sagging double bed with which her government bungalow was furnished, he had lain awake while she slept, wishing furiously for her to act and understand; and although it had taken a little time to work, within a matter of weeks she had turned to him and said, We could get married if thats what you want., So perhaps, too, he should have wished her into suggesting Saudi Arabia; then she would have known it was her own decision. eight months on ghazzah street ending. EIGHT MONTHS ON GHAZZAH STREET Copyright 1988 by Hilary Mantel. Pity, he said. Apparently, HM wrote this based on her personal experience of living in Saudi early in her marriage . Sleep now, she coaxed herself. When Frances Shore moves to Saudi Arabia, she settles in a nondescript sublet, sure that common sense and an open mind will serve her well with her Muslim neighbors. Will we ever find common ground? It was very trying when they took your wheels off. 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Hes going to manage their Jeddah business; hes had experience out there, of course., So you mean youll be working with him?, I hope we dont end up living near him as well., They do pay for your housing, so its probably a case of taking what youre given., Thats fine, she said, but just try to ensure that what were given doesnt include Pollard. Frances, his wife, is a cartographer who goes with him but is not, as a woman, allowed to work there. This is a really excellent book, predominantly about culture, and cultures. About the whole scene in Jeddah. She hears whispers, sounds of distress from the 'empty' flat above her head. : The black tents of the Bedu have been replaced by aluminium shacks. A map would be out of date as soon as it was made. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and Amazon Prime. She straightened up and kissed his cheek. But he never went for them. Jeff Pollard. I seem to keep reading Mantels lesser works. : British citizen Frances Shore accompanies her husband to his new job in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Ive been to Botswana, the Holiday Inn, Gaborone. 332 reviews Frances Shore is a cartographer by trade, a maker of maps, but when her husband's work takes her to Saudi Arabia she finds herself unable to map the Kingdom's areas of internal darkness. A cartographer by profession, she really has no hope of working while living in the Kingdom. You cant tell me it wasnt a cover-up., You find a young girl dead outside a high-rise block, after a wild partyyou ask yourself, did she fall or was she pushed? Please try again. As her days empty of certainty and purpose, her life becomes a blank -- waiting to be filled by violence and disaster. Getting through some of the chapters was like wading through treacle, but as the sometimes surreal, almost dreamlike sequences followed one another, I began to feel the oppression building to screaming point, as it does for the main character. Bowing to Mecca, and so forth., As long as it takes to inconvenience you totally, the man said. Its after that Helen Smith business., It was a damn funny business, if you ask me. She pushed up the window shade and looked out, into featureless darkness. Hillary has captured in minute details all the challenges fa. Safari suit, doing the African bit. I ask you. AU $124.26 . A bold, searingly honest and uncompromising novel. San Francisco ChronicleA heady spice of significance cleverly spiced with an aura of lurking menace. The New York Times Book ReviewA violent conspiracy tale with a nuanced psychological portrait of a woman learning to trust her own eyes and ears. Entertainment WeeklyA tautly written tale of suspense that makes brilliant use of monotony and claustrophobia to heighten the heroine's growing sense of danger. The Washington Post Book World[A] blend of dark and light, comedy and tragedy, heart-in-the-mouth narrative and slow-working analysis of the human condition. Los Angeles Times. We hope you have enjoyed we hope to have the pleasure we hope we hope and please to remain seated until the aircraft is stationary . Hilary Mantel has done far better with her excellent trilogy about Thomas Cromwell than in this novel. : She added, to herself, a friend of yours., Its all unlikely. They tell me its worse now. Turadup had got a toehold in Zambia before the bottom dropped out of copper, putting up expatriate housing in Kabwe, the mining town that had once been known as Broken Hill; then when Zambia went down the drain they moved south a bit, putting in an unsuccessful tender for work on the new international airport at Gaborone; then picking up work around that city, piping water and building a clinic for a shanty town that had become permanent, They operated over the South African border too, putting up a much-needed casino in a bantustan. The UK building trade had slumped into what seemed chronic recession; they didnt know what they were going to do. Mantel evokes Saudi life marvelously. They told her to bring flat sandals, British postage stamps, a bottle of Bovril. . Nurse, are you? he inquired. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. She closed her eyes. Please try again. He didnt know how to describe Jeddah. We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Eight Months on Ghazzah Street A Novel Author: Hilary Mantel Read Excerpt About This Book When Frances Shore moves to Saudi Arabia, she settles in a nondescript sublet, sure that common sense and an open mind will serve her well with her Muslim neighbors. Frances Shore is a cartographer by trade, a maker of maps, but when her husband's work takes her to Saudi Arabia she finds herself unable to map the Kingdom's areas of internal darkness. So now when you were off to Jeddah, people said, Dont fall off any balconies, will you? It became monotonous. As in UK, Arab expats or immigrants are intrusive and nosy, so the story is actually about Western expats in Arab countries. This book creeps up on you. The main character becomes sort of obsessed with what she perceives as the misogyny and general backwardness/ilogicalness of SA society and it all ends up feeling super politically incorrect to the reader in 2012. By: Hilary Mantel. There had been the odd, expensive silence. By HILARY MANTEL Henry Holt and Company. Oh, look, am I to pack these? She held out a candlestick, one of a pair from a local pottery, rough, heavy, unglazed. When in the store with your husband the clerks will only speak with him, as you, the wife, don't exist. Drinks were free of course, but on the Saudi run this standard airline ploy had the status of charity work. the book starts tackling some of the most important issues of debate for our modern times: religion and how fundamentalism works, the place of woman in society, relations between the West and the East, foreign policies and the Gulf States.the list goes on. It was the steward. Im just doing a final drinks round. The prose is well written and evokes the claustrophobic. The dogs and cats were coming in to be fed, wandering to the back door to wait around, like the Victorian poor. And on that dayalways described by Andrew as the day I ran slap-bang into Pollardthe relevant phone number was handed over, and their future was set in train. Eight Months on Ghazzah Street Hilary Mantel, Author Holt McDougal $13 (288p) ISBN 978--8050-5203-9. In her search for the truth of what is happening in her apartment block, and her search for meaning in her own, now very limited, life, she constantly comes up against walls - physical, cultural, mental and emotional. Eight Months on Ghazzah Street: A Novel Paperback - September 1, 2003 by Hilary Mantel (Author) 368 ratings 3.6 on Goodreads 2,594 ratings Kindle $11.99 Read with Our Free App Audiobook $0.00 Free with your Audible trial Hardcover $70.17 5 Used from $66.17 Paperback $14.99 16 Used from $6.10 13 New from $13.37 Audio CD $19.46 2 New from $19.46 Retrouvez l'ebook Eight Months on Ghazzah Street de Hilary Mantel - diteur Fourth Estate - Format ePub - Librairie Decitre votre prochain livre est l . I thought he was trying to persuade everybody what a grand life it was as a freelance consultant?, Well, it cant be such a grand life, because hes just signed up with Turadup himself. Already it felt further; watches moved on, a day in a life condensed to a scramble at a check-in desk, a walk to a departure gate; a day cut short and eclipsed, hurtling on into advancing night. She did not just describe the physical aspects of the country, she was able to put me back in that time and place and make me remember the confusion, the low-grade fear, the suspicion, the boredom, the frustration, the intrigue. She was apprehensive, yes. There were always stories out of the Middle East, and no doubt Jeff Pollard would have told her some, if he had not been so anxious to recruit Andrew for his building project. Out with the bulldozer. So an independent, young married couple move to Saudi in order for the husband to work, make some money and then they'll come back home again. No alcohol! people say, as if youd die without it. Im going to join my husband. She filled in the details again, aware that she was more polite in the air than she was on the ground: the six years in Africa, and now Turadup, and the new Ministry building; aware too that as soon as she had said husband, the slight interest he had taken in her had faded completely. With the advent of the blacktop road across the South African border, life had changed for the worse, their severe small-town isolation ended, the single street full of new faces. It had been raining, earlier that day, and there was a heavy, animal scent of drenched earth and crushed flowers. Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. I couldn't resist and stole this from my friend Beth's bookshelf and am so glad I did! Listen, if anything goes wrong, if by some mischance hubbys not there, dont hang about, dont speak to anybody, get straight in our airline bus and come downtown with us to the Hyatt Regency. The Saudis see no need for their foreign servants to be aware or involved. . Eight Months on Ghazzah Street (1988) is the third novel by English author Dame Hilary Mantel, who won the Man Booker Prize in 2009 and 2012. He made a leap of faith: it will be all right, I know it will. The reader should give it a chance, since at first, it may seem a bore, with the dwelling on the the in. At this pointone morning over breakfastAndrew had said, What about the Middle East?, Oh no, she said. The Goodreads community is, of course, exceptional when it comes to finding great books. It tells the story of an Englishwoman, Frances Shore, who moves to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to live with her husband, an engineer. Theyre in a hurry., So you wont even be coming to England first?, Well listen, Fran, we wont be apart for long. Read the Review. Although it takes place several decades ago, it reads as if it were happening today. Either that, or she's just the most narrow-minded woman of her time. 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