The Sand Fish

A novel of Dubai, The Sand Fish by Maha Gargash offers readers a fascinating glimpse into another corner of the world. Gargash traces seventeen-year-old Noora from her family's stone hut in the arid Hararees mountains to the coastal village of Wadeema. Inside a wealthy trader's household, Noora's sudden marriage as third wife to Jassem, an older pearl merchant, unfolds alongside the quiet rivalries of his family. Stark contrasts emerge between isolated mountain wadis and the crowded lanes of coastal ports preparing for the final Big Dive, while domestic negotiations among the wives play out under the shadow of wind towers, barasti huts, and shifting desert dunes. Set in the 1950s in what is now the United Arab Emirates, The Sand Fish tells the poignant and powerful story of a rebellious young woman trapped in a repressive society—as richly atmospheric a look at Middle Eastern life and culture as The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and Alaa Al Aswany’s The Yacoubian Building. Coming of Age: Seventeen-year-old Noora resists the rigid scrutiny of matchmakers Gulsom and Sakina, clinging to her fierce independence after childhood in isolated mountains. Family Life: Within a wealthy coastal household, senior wife Lateefa maneuvers domestic control while second wife Shamsa bitterly defends her status against the arrival of a younger bride. Small Town Setting: Close-knit settlements like Maazoolah celebrate seasonal rains with the communal nadba chant while jealously guarding hidden cliffside cisterns. Cultural Heritage: Daily life in the 1950s Trucial States unfolds through hand-stitched silk thoubs, traditional henna rituals, and the arduous seasonal rhythms of the pearl fleets. Also by This Author: That Other Me.