Book Review: Desperate in Dubai

Monday, July 4, 2016
So for years I’ve searched the lands of the Arabian Peninsula and beyond for a book like Girls of Riyadh. Luckily, on a recent trip to the Middle East, I found Desperate in Dubai fabulously flaunting itself on a centre shelf in Kinokuniya bookstore. It was lust at first sight! And my fleetingly superficial feelings turned out to be spot on and even better!




The Rundown

Country: The United Arab Emirates, 2011
Author: Ameera Al Hakawati
Genre: Novel, Fiction
Languages: English & Arabic
Publisher: Random House India
Pages: 551
Love it or Hate it? Love it!

Synopsis in A Sentence: What do a rich Emirati-British heiress, a Maghrebi-British housewife, a successful Lebanese bombshell, and a British-Indian school teacher have in common?—They all have dirty little secrets and they can’t wait to unravel eachothers’ stories; which of these desperados will outdo the others in this fabulous city called Dubai?

Think: Desperate housewives for the unmarried  

The Good:  It’s a packed story reflecting the modern challenges of girls in one of the world’s most luxurious cities! It’s layered and honest and diverse and complex and light and true-to-life! Frequent visitors to and residents of Dubai alike may learn a thing or two about a city they perhaps have not completely known all about.

It also does not shy away from touching heavy subjects like cultural clashes, stereotypes, women’s rights and national prejudice, while managing to discuss them fairly. Books that touch on these subjects typically do so from a singular cultural lens, but with this we are exposed to a multi-dimensional exploration of the life and culture of real people. The plot is based on real women’s stories and this is a refreshing outlook into lives of men and women so many of us know too little of.

The prose is quite direct and conversational, making for a light read, but of course the subject matter delves into deeper issues without dowsing its reader with the typical trite stories of restrictions in the Middle East from a foreigner's perspective. What I especially appreciated about the book was that it explored the experiences of diverse people; Africans, Asians, Middle-Easterners and Westerners. Very few Western books explore stories of different people with diverse perspectives (and in fact I cannot think of a recent one right now that does so). Our lives and experiences are shaped by our racial, gender, religious and socio-economic features and this book somehow almost comprehensively covers many of these bits and more, so this is indeed a rare gem!

The Bad: Because the story is so layered and interwoven, it may be hard to keep up with all the different characters and their stories and the details that go with them. If you’re not ready to take this down in one go, get ready for a bit of back-tracking and mind-juggling because the details are important for the juicy conclusion unravels!
Also, guys, don’t be intimidated by how girly the story line seems. Haven’t you always wondered what girls in the Middle East have going on? Well this is your guide!

The Verdict: Deliciously ambrosial, yet a complex and comprehensive pleasure! A fun, enlightening, honest read! 
4.5 stars!

Memorable Quotes:
1.     “’I never ask for a lady’s number,’ he explains, ‘and a real lady will never give it anyway. So here you go, Princess, the ball’s in your court.’ With that, he shakes her and Leila’s hands gently, bids them farewell and disappears, leaving both girls in complete awe but also surprised. It’s not normal for a decent Arab guy to just leave two girls alone without offering to drive them home, or at the very least, seeing them to a taxi…”

2.     “I spot him standing outside the cinema, by the big wooden ship in the China Court of the mall and wave at him. Although I prefer Mall of the Emirates to Ibn Battuta as the atmosphere is friendlier and warmer, there is no doubt that the latter is stunning to look at, especially for first timers…”


3.     “Lady Luxe lazily opens her eyes and stretched out on her bed, enjoying the sensation of the soft, 100 percent pure Egyptian cotton sheets against her skin. For a moment, she forgets who she is, who she is expected to be, as she relishes the warmth of the glorious morning on her arms. The fear she felt when falling asleep has faded away entirely and she is already wondering what devlish acts she should commit after sunset…”

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