It's always torturous to read a horrible novel by an author you love. Unfortunately, this early book by Mantel is too hung up on the otherness of Jeddah to undertake any sort of serious examination of Saudi society. The Muslim neighbours, especially the Pakistani woman, are more caricatures than fully developed characters. This is all the more disappointing because there were points where the book actually does manage to convey the claustrophobic nature of life under strict purdah and segregation of society.