In the Kingdom of Men (edition 2012)

Naive woman from Oklahoma ends up in Saudis Arabia inside a company compound. Much of novel deals with exploration of different culture, and social status. Interesting read, but sometimes I wanted to shake the main character. ( )

The book was about a woman from a small town in Oklahoma (I think) who gets pregnant and then married, only to lose the baby. The husband moves them to Saudi Arabia during the early stages of the Arab-American oil company. It's about the company compound and the politics and control and the different lifestyles and culture clashes - especially the difficulty of being a woman at that time and place. The book was good, only problem was I read what I thought was the main event of the book before reading it only to find out it was the conclusion, so I was waiting the whole book for the main event to happen only to have it happen in the last few pages. Still, it was very interesting. ( )

Gin McPhee is very pleased to escape her dirt poor and strict Methodist upbringing by getting pregnant at the first opportunity. Her new husband gets work and they joyfully set up in their own home, but she loses the baby. In the grief-fogged aftermath, her husband Mason takes a job in Saudi Arabia and they fly out to the company compound.

In Saudi, Gin finds herself thrust into sudden and unaccustomed luxury, which she is not entirely at ease with. She doesn’t know how to deal with the house servants, and is not comfortable with other, middle-class, company wives. However, she makes a friend and starts to build a life, of sorts, for herself.

Mason does well in his job and rises fast – making enemies along the way. Then, when he starts investigating corruption at the heart of the company, things begin to go badly wrong.

This book has a number of strengths, of which the greatest, for me, is the evocative descriptions of time and place the author gives us. The early section covering Gin’s early upbringing is particularly good, but I also enjoyed the narrow and bitchy lives of the company wives, Gin’s confusion and resentment at the constraints on what women can and can’t do as soon as she leaves the compound, and the unfolding friendships she makes with the Arab driver and her Pakistani houseboy.

On the down side, the book seems to lack focus, as if the author hadn’t really decided what to do with it (it isn’t really a thriller, but it’s more than a “slice-of-life” story), and there were sections (especially those dealing with life on the compound) which were repetitive and not very interesting. And I didn’t like the ending – the story just suddenly stopped, and the epilogue felt rather irrelevant.

Overall I found this a very enjoyable read, and with more depth than the “chick-lit-y” cover would lead you to expect. ( )

This was one of those novels that I could not put down, and read it in 1 day. The narrative caught my attention immediately. And the author's details about the lives of the characters is amazing and more than interesting.
I loved it. (I was hoping that the end would be that Gin moved in with Abdullah and became a wealthy wife of a Sheik. But that didn't happen.)

I loved this book and will read all of this author's books. ( )

"The fact is that you are a woman, and in possession of great power(274)." -Yash

Virginia Mae Mitchell was orphaned when her mother and grandmother passed. At age seven she was picked up from the orphanage by the man her grandmother and mother had left years ago, a Bible beating tyrant known as her grandfather. Gin grew up plain and poor. She never really gave over to her grandfather's faith even though she was bound by its rules. She found characters in books her best companions. Plain and obscure yet she managed to catch the eye and heart of the hometown hero, Mason McPhee. Gin as well as her grandfather soon found out she was expecting. The hero came to her rescue. They got married but the happily ever after never came. The birth was still and so was Gin. Mason wanted to make it all better. Mason's saviour's complex landed them in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia. A whole new word.

Mason began working for the Arabian Oil Company, Aramco and Gin was supposed to sit around and be the pampered wife. They arrived to a perfectly well boxed life in Abqaiq. A home with all the amenitites including a houseboy/servant, Yash Sharma. There was also a driver, Abdullah. Gin soon found a BFF in a fellow Aramco wife, Ruthie. There remained one constant in Saudi Arabia that Gin was familiar with from her days in Oklahoma, women had to abide by the rules set by the men.

Gin was one to test the boundaries but she really didn't have the courage to cross any. Mason's saviour's complex proved that there was no resurrection of mortal gods. Everyone needs a friend like Yash. You miss him for days after you finish the book. Ruthie is that friend liken to Bette Midler's character in the movie "Beaches." Barnes made you feel the sand and the sun on your skin. You felt the restrictions of the society. The Bedouin culture was well researched and made interesting. There is also a pirate who is really a photographer, Carlo. His charm will make you smile in real life.

The ending is still with me. The complexity of the narrative and the magnitude of the issues Barnes dealt with I'm yet unraveling. A real story. More than fiction. I can't say enough about Yash. ( )