Women of Sand and Myrrh: A Novel

A captivating collecting of short stories that helps the reader to imagine life behind the veil or beneath the burkah.

(Why, so far into my 4th decade, can I not yet spell myrrh, given that it always got a mention in the Northside nativity plays). Anyway, the book - gritty realism. Does not make for comfortable reading. Must be why it was banned

A view of Islamic states that most outsiders do not get -- that of women in these societies. Using the stories of 4 women from different stations and conditions, al Shaykh brings us behind the burka and the abaya.

Dense, convoluted - I struggled to finish it. Perhaps because I found the world it evoked so oppressive.

I read this book eons ago, but it's one of my favorites...it's from the perspective of four women with completely different life experiences living in the Middle East.