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year23's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
A heartbreaking portrait of a family navigating gender, culture, and religious expectations and 'isms and making difficult and at times, traumatic choices in that process.
I wish there was more of Saeedah's voice & perspective, you get glimpses but it doesn't take up nearly enough of the narrative. Instead it's much more focused on the people around her. I'm still thinking about this choice and what the author was going for - perhaps how what matters much less is the why behind this choice and more the what and impact of those choices. She remains a mystery still through to the end.
I highly recommend - especially those looking to delve into the immigrant experience, particularly for Saudi Arabians, and all challenges & questions that brings around identity, agency, home, family.
I wish there was more of Saeedah's voice & perspective, you get glimpses but it doesn't take up nearly enough of the narrative. Instead it's much more focused on the people around her. I'm still thinking about this choice and what the author was going for - perhaps how what matters much less is the why behind this choice and more the what and impact of those choices. She remains a mystery still through to the end.
I highly recommend - especially those looking to delve into the immigrant experience, particularly for Saudi Arabians, and all challenges & questions that brings around identity, agency, home, family.
hanzy's review
4.0
I believe this is the first book of Saudi Literature that I've read to have portrayed the culture in the most realistic sense. An emotional roller coaster with some of the main themes being loss of identity, family and a sense of belonging.
This book had quite a bit to unpack emotionally and I loved every bit of it.
This book had quite a bit to unpack emotionally and I loved every bit of it.
archytas's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
This is a lyrical novel. Quotah has woven a novel whose success rests upon our ability to empathise with people often at odds with each other, and the result is something deeply pleasurable to read. The narrative centers around an abduction, and the grief that reverberates from this decision drives the narrative. Simple judgements are eschewed in favour of the human emotional experience, and the book possibly has more to say as a consequence.
The book primarily follows three characters, Muneer, a Saudi man whose marriage falls apart while studying in the US, Saeedi, the woman who takes their child and runs rather than return to Saudi Arabia and Hanedi, who grows up on the run in the US. Muneer and Hanadi have clear voices in the text, and their grief, felt in different ways, almost gives the narrative its arcs. Saeedi is largely a cipher - from the start of the novel her behaviour indicates distress and isolation. We are left partly to guess at the reserves of emotion that underpin it, the sense of fear that drives her tendency to hide. This may have been because Quotah struggles herself to understand what might drive someone to cause such an enormous loss, but it also functions to allow us to see it from various guess-perspectives, while giving her
We do see enough of Saudi society to suggest why someone might decide any future is better than raising a daughter within its confines, just as we also see enough to understand why so many would find that unthinkable. Quotah absolutely, however, does not stint on showing the cost of growing up in deception, isolation and without any consistent community. Western literature can often view any attempt to remove girls from the Gulf states as just. Quotah challenges this with a narrative centered around a supportive, loving family within a patriachial culture and by refusing to minimise the costs. But neither does she romanticise the culture or minimise the realities of not being able to drive (Muneer can't afford a driver, and this subtle economic difference has an enormous impact on the women in his family) or of expectations around marriage.
Bride of the Sea also works as a broader narrative about cultural tension and difference. Most of the central characters are pulled between cultures in ways that never easily reconcile. These cultures, and their ways of intersecting, evolve over the years of the novel just as the characters do. There is a lack of easy answers, but a strong demand for mutual respect as a starting point. Quotah delights in subverting simple tropes - the War on Terror plays a strong role in the latter part of the book, and she both condemns the drive to conflict while complicating simple narratives.
But I've made this all sound much more intellectual than what the book excels at - evoking human emotion and lovely writing that always feels perfectly balanced. It is the kind of book you are not even aware of how fast you are turning the pages - you aren't in a hurry to find out what happens next, but you're not feeling mired down either. It is just a pleasure to go on the journey, with plenty to think about after.
The book primarily follows three characters, Muneer, a Saudi man whose marriage falls apart while studying in the US, Saeedi, the woman who takes their child and runs rather than return to Saudi Arabia and Hanedi, who grows up on the run in the US. Muneer and Hanadi have clear voices in the text, and their grief, felt in different ways, almost gives the narrative its arcs. Saeedi is largely a cipher - from the start of the novel her behaviour indicates distress and isolation. We are left partly to guess at the reserves of emotion that underpin it, the sense of fear that drives her tendency to hide. This may have been because Quotah struggles herself to understand what might drive someone to cause such an enormous loss, but it also functions to allow us to see it from various guess-perspectives, while giving her
We do see enough of Saudi society to suggest why someone might decide any future is better than raising a daughter within its confines, just as we also see enough to understand why so many would find that unthinkable. Quotah absolutely, however, does not stint on showing the cost of growing up in deception, isolation and without any consistent community. Western literature can often view any attempt to remove girls from the Gulf states as just. Quotah challenges this with a narrative centered around a supportive, loving family within a patriachial culture and by refusing to minimise the costs. But neither does she romanticise the culture or minimise the realities of not being able to drive (Muneer can't afford a driver, and this subtle economic difference has an enormous impact on the women in his family) or of expectations around marriage.
Bride of the Sea also works as a broader narrative about cultural tension and difference. Most of the central characters are pulled between cultures in ways that never easily reconcile. These cultures, and their ways of intersecting, evolve over the years of the novel just as the characters do. There is a lack of easy answers, but a strong demand for mutual respect as a starting point. Quotah delights in subverting simple tropes - the War on Terror plays a strong role in the latter part of the book, and she both condemns the drive to conflict while complicating simple narratives.
But I've made this all sound much more intellectual than what the book excels at - evoking human emotion and lovely writing that always feels perfectly balanced. It is the kind of book you are not even aware of how fast you are turning the pages - you aren't in a hurry to find out what happens next, but you're not feeling mired down either. It is just a pleasure to go on the journey, with plenty to think about after.
edy901's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
mbates222's review
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.25
shelfexplanatory's review
3.0
BRIDE OF THE SEA by debut author Eman Quotah is a family saga about a Saudi family that gets torn apart. Saeedah, a young mother, suddenly disappears from her Cleveland home, taking her young daughter Hanadi with her. Her husband Muneer is left behind, to search for his lost wife and daughter for years following. The story covers multiple persepctives and spans decades, from Saeedah and Muneer's courtship and marriage in Saudi Arabia, to their marriage and immigration to Ohio, and finally Hanadi's search to connect with her lost identity and family when she comes of age.
Quotah juxtaposes Saeedah and Muneer's dynamic family life in Saudi Arabia, the familial expectations that lead Saeedah to run, and the isolation that she imposes on herself and Hanadi in order to remain hidden from their family.
My favorite perspective was Hanadi, who is raised knowing little of her heritage. It felt bittersweet to watch her reconnect with her lost family and culture in her 20s. Although she is welcomed with open arms, there is a sense of uncertainty that looms over her, and the knowledge of what her life could have been like if things had been different. It's not a perfect happy family reunion. It's a reminder that families aren't perfect, and the simplistic idea of "family is everything" is messier than it seems.
Thank you to NetGalley and TinHouse for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. BRIDE OF THE SEA is out January 26, 2021!
Quotah juxtaposes Saeedah and Muneer's dynamic family life in Saudi Arabia, the familial expectations that lead Saeedah to run, and the isolation that she imposes on herself and Hanadi in order to remain hidden from their family.
My favorite perspective was Hanadi, who is raised knowing little of her heritage. It felt bittersweet to watch her reconnect with her lost family and culture in her 20s. Although she is welcomed with open arms, there is a sense of uncertainty that looms over her, and the knowledge of what her life could have been like if things had been different. It's not a perfect happy family reunion. It's a reminder that families aren't perfect, and the simplistic idea of "family is everything" is messier than it seems.
Thank you to NetGalley and TinHouse for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. BRIDE OF THE SEA is out January 26, 2021!
sofi_thebookishflor's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
moniipeters's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
specificity's review
3.0
I think my main issue with this novel is the handling of the character who sets the entire thing in motion—Saeedah/Sadie. The writing was lyrical and beautiful and painted such a vivid portrait of this family, especially Muneer and Hannah, but I found the way Sadie's decisions were dismissed and the way she was villainized incredibly off-putting. Hannah's hostility to her mother was realistic in the beginning, but she (and Muneer and his family) spat all over her decisions with an air of authority I felt was undeserved and Sadie got very few chances to tell her story, and the few slim chapters she got rang... incredibly hollow for someone who was clearly so complex and deserved more than any other character in this book to have her story told.
edit: the more I think about this book the less I like it and the angrier I get, it's just. beyond dismissive to Sadie's whole character and it practically spits on the difficult experiences and choices of immigrant women who didn't have the luxury of growing up with dual birthright citizenship and passports
edit: the more I think about this book the less I like it and the angrier I get, it's just. beyond dismissive to Sadie's whole character and it practically spits on the difficult experiences and choices of immigrant women who didn't have the luxury of growing up with dual birthright citizenship and passports
novelvisits's review
4.0
Bride of the Sea by Eman Quotah, is the story of a mismatched Saudi couple, Muneer and Saeedah, and their young daughter, Hanadi, all living in Ohio.
“He was that kind of child, one who stopped himself from doing things, who would rather observe. She was the kind of girl who scrambled up and didn’t think twice. No risk seemed to scare her; nothing changed her mind.”
Eventually, vast differences topple their marriage, but the question of who Hanadi will live with looms. In Saudi culture after age 7 it is customary for a child to live with his or her father. Saeedah cannot accept this. Instead, she vanishes with Hanadi. Despite detectives, money, and frequent trips between his home in Jidda and the U.S. Muneer can’t locate his daughter.
“Muneer slams his fist into a cushion. How does a father lose his daughter as though she were a pair of socks under a bed, a toothbrush left behind in a hotel? No one asks the question out loud but Muneer knows they think it, too.”
Halfway through, Bride of the Sea shifts from Muneer and Saeedah, to Hanadi, a young woman with a past she needs to reframe and a family she wants to know. Torn between the world she grew up in and the one she missed out on, Hanadi travels to Saudi Arabia on the cusp of the Iraq War. The cultural dichotomies Hanadi faces make this a truly unique and touching coming-of-age story.
“When the maître d’ speaks to her in Arabic, she feels herself blushing. Not knowing the language that is her birthright is a special kind of stupidity.”
At times, the story moved a little slowly for my taste, but throughout I appreciated the compassion debut author Eman Quotah showed all her characters. With tender prose, she deftly examined what being taken did to not only the life of Hanadi, but those of Muneer and Saeedah, too.
“He was that kind of child, one who stopped himself from doing things, who would rather observe. She was the kind of girl who scrambled up and didn’t think twice. No risk seemed to scare her; nothing changed her mind.”
Eventually, vast differences topple their marriage, but the question of who Hanadi will live with looms. In Saudi culture after age 7 it is customary for a child to live with his or her father. Saeedah cannot accept this. Instead, she vanishes with Hanadi. Despite detectives, money, and frequent trips between his home in Jidda and the U.S. Muneer can’t locate his daughter.
“Muneer slams his fist into a cushion. How does a father lose his daughter as though she were a pair of socks under a bed, a toothbrush left behind in a hotel? No one asks the question out loud but Muneer knows they think it, too.”
Halfway through, Bride of the Sea shifts from Muneer and Saeedah, to Hanadi, a young woman with a past she needs to reframe and a family she wants to know. Torn between the world she grew up in and the one she missed out on, Hanadi travels to Saudi Arabia on the cusp of the Iraq War. The cultural dichotomies Hanadi faces make this a truly unique and touching coming-of-age story.
“When the maître d’ speaks to her in Arabic, she feels herself blushing. Not knowing the language that is her birthright is a special kind of stupidity.”
At times, the story moved a little slowly for my taste, but throughout I appreciated the compassion debut author Eman Quotah showed all her characters. With tender prose, she deftly examined what being taken did to not only the life of Hanadi, but those of Muneer and Saeedah, too.