Finding Nouf.By: Zoe Ferraris

This novel is a mystery that takes place in the Middle East. The main character of course is Nouf, who disappears one day. Her family believes she is kidnapped, but they have hope she is alive. After weeks of searching the family hires a dessert guide to look efficiently for Nouf. The family knows a camel is missing in their barn. so the searching is in the dessert. They find her body in a "wadi" something like a ravine in the dessert. There had been a rain storm , so the investigators thought she drowned. The forensic doctors believed, and found out she was pregnant. Now, there was a new dilemma brewing. Who was the Father of Nouf's child? Was the Dad of her child the killer of Nouf ?
Nouf was planning to get married soon, so it was tragic for her, and family to know about Nouf. Nouf was a girl about 16 or 17 that had her whole life ahead of her. She had dreamed, and planned on moving, and establishing herself in New York. To me it was interesting, and intriguing the way the Arabs treated their women in their society. Women were normally second classs citizens. They did not encourage much Education for females. Woman had to walk behind their male spouse.
I enjoyed this novel very much . Women in the Saudi culture wore "bourga"s, which is a veil, so noone can see the female's face. All you see is the female's eyes. Reading this novel , you soon learn different aspects of a foreign culture called Saudi Arabian. American culture has many freedoms that the Saudi culture will never obtain.
The author of this novel married a Saudi - Palestinian . The husband was from a beduion family. The author went to live their to be close to her husband.
The novel is a mystery, but at the same time interesting to learn about Saudi Arabian culture.
LRD-1/7/10