Finding Nouf

Finding Nouf, by Zoe Ferraris

In her first novel, Zoe Ferraris has woven what could have been an ordinary story of the search for Nouf, a young woman who suddenly disappears, into a very interesting and extremely readable tale. The unique key is that Nouf is the 16 year old daughter of a wealthy Saudi family and she vanishes into the Saudi desert. The search to find out why she ran away from her family becomes the center of the story. Her older brother Othman enlists the help of Nayir Sharqi, a guide who escorts wealthy Saudis on desert expeditions, to first find his young sister and then uncover the reasons for her fate. Othman also seeks the professional help of his finance Katya, who is a technician in the coroner's office. At one point in her life, Ferraris married into an extended family of Saudi-Palestinian Bedouins. It is from that experience that she has presumably written so compellingly about life in the Saudi kingdom, especially for young women. Finding Nouf is not only a well-crafted mystery, but also a fascinating window into the cloistered private lives of modern Saudis.
-Roy