Eight Months on Ghazzah Street
Encyclopedia
Eight Months on Ghazzah Street (1988) is the third novel by English author Hilary Mantel
, who won the Man Booker Prize
in 2009. It concerns the Englishwoman Frances Shore, who moves to Jeddah
, Saudi Arabia
to live with her husband, an engineer.
Based on Mantel's own experiences in Saudi Arabia, the novel explores different peoples' struggles with the contrast in cultures, including those of people of different Islamic cultures, and the misunderstandings between the Saudis and Westerners, as well as between women and men. Mantel felt the book anticipated later developments in the culture clash between Islam and the West: “I felt a bit frustrated because as events developed, I had a sort of I-told-you-so feeling.”
wrote of a "tightness of control" and that a "peculiar fear emanates from this narrative".
On the book's American publication in 1997, one reviewer described it as "a bold, searingly honest and uncompromising novel" while another praised "Mantel's knack for leavening her weighty themes with seductive narrative strategies".
Hilary Mantel
Hilary Mary Mantel CBE , née Thompson, is an English novelist, short story writer and critic. Her work, ranging in subject from personal memoir to historical fiction, has been short-listed for major literary awards...
, who won the Man Booker Prize
Man Booker Prize
The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe. The winner of the Man Booker Prize is generally assured of international renown and...
in 2009. It concerns the Englishwoman Frances Shore, who moves to Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
to live with her husband, an engineer.
Based on Mantel's own experiences in Saudi Arabia, the novel explores different peoples' struggles with the contrast in cultures, including those of people of different Islamic cultures, and the misunderstandings between the Saudis and Westerners, as well as between women and men. Mantel felt the book anticipated later developments in the culture clash between Islam and the West: “I felt a bit frustrated because as events developed, I had a sort of I-told-you-so feeling.”
Reception
Reviewing the book in The Spectator, Anita BrooknerAnita Brookner
Anita Brookner CBE is an English language novelist and art historian who was born in Herne Hill, a suburb of London.-Early life and education:...
wrote of a "tightness of control" and that a "peculiar fear emanates from this narrative".
On the book's American publication in 1997, one reviewer described it as "a bold, searingly honest and uncompromising novel" while another praised "Mantel's knack for leavening her weighty themes with seductive narrative strategies".