This novel is about a young couple who go to live in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) for a while in 1984 to earn some money. Andrew is a civil engineer who is given the job of managing the construction of a new building. Frances, his wife, arrives a few weeks later and is immediately overcome by feelings of isolation and claustrophobia.

The young couple are housed in a flat next to a busy road. The road is surrounded by a high wall and virtually every window looks out on this wall. It’s very hot and very dusty. The air-conditioning pumps round stale air and cockroaches share the flat with them.

The novel is based in part on Hilary Mantel’s own experience of living in Jeddah with her husband when he was working there as a geologist; she says that the day she left was the best of her life.

There is a plot but really, this is more about the experience of living in such a restrictive, dangerous and misogynistic society and how different people cope (or don’t cope) with it. I found it compelling, but it also filled me with dread. Well worth reading!