Zoë Ferraris

Ferraris in Saudi Arabia

Zoë Ferraris is an American novelist. She was born in Oklahoma. In 1991 she married a man from Saudi Arabia. She lived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with her in-laws for nine months.^[1] Her time in Saudi Arabia is the background for the three novels she has written.^[2]

Books

• Finding Nouf (2008) follows main character Nayir ash-Sharqi, a Palestinian guide, as he attempts to solve the murder of a young girl. The girl went missing three days before what was to be her arranged marriage.^[3] ISBN 978-0547237787 In the UK the book was published under the title "The night of the Mi'raj". ISBN 978-0349120324
• City of Veils (2010) also features characters Nayir ash-Sharqi and Katya Hijazi, both featured in Finding Nouf. This time they are investigating the murder of a young woman whose body was discovered washed up on a beach. The victim, Leila Nawar, was a film-maker working on a subversive film about the Qur'an's origins. The Guardian critic and crime writer Laura Wilson recommended Ferraris's second novel as one of the best fiction books of 2010.^[4] ISBN 9780316074278
• Kingdom of Strangers: A Novel (2012) ISBN 978-0316074247

Awards

In 2009, Ferraris won an Alex Award for Finding Nouf.^[5]

Finding Nouf also won the 2008 Los Angeles Times Book Prize in the Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction category.^[6]

References

1. "Envisioning herself as a Saudi man". latimes. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
2. "Zoe Ferraris Raises the Veil: Love and Murder Mysteries in Modern Saudi Arabia". The Huffington Post. 17 August 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
3. "Mystery of the Saudi desert". latimes. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
4. Justine Jordan. "The best of the fiction year – review". the Guardian. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 16, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
6. "Book Prizes – Los Angeles Times Festival of Books» 2008 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes Winners". Retrieved 17 January 2016.

External links

• Official website