Finding Nouf (2008) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

show spoilers

Characters/People edit see section history

• Nouf ash-Shrawi: The missing 16 year old daughter of the wealthy Shrawi family. Engaged to be married, her disappearance precipitates a family crisis.
• Nayir ash-Sharqi: A desert guide, hired by the wealthy Shrawi family to find the whereabouts of Nouf, the 16-year old daughter of the family. Nayir is a Palestinian orphan reared by his bachelor uncle Samir. "He never failed to find a lost traveler.... He became an archer, a falconer, a survivalist of sorts who could find his way ome from remote locations needing only a headscarf, water, and the sky." Gentle, hulking and pious, Nayir knows almost nothing about women, though he hopes to marry some day.
• Katya Hijazi: Katya, 28, is a laboratory technician at Jeddah's coroner's office. An unmarried woman, she is Othman's fianceé. With a Ph.D. in molecular biology, Katya is an educated, working woman. Ottman has enlisted her to collect evidence as part of a private investigation into his sister's death.
• Abu: Katya's father, and childhood friend of Ahmad. A retired chemist. Widowed many years ago.
• Ahmad: Katya's personal driver and escort. A Lebanese, and childhood friend of her father, Ahmad is contracted by her father to escort and protect her. Katya is named after his deceased wife, a Russian emigreé.
• Abu Tahsin ash-Shrawi: Patriarch of the weatlhy Bedouin Shrawi family, Abu Tashin grew up in the desert. "He was well known for giving things away, not just money but cars and boats and purebred horses. The sons too gave their belongings away, so that the family was in effect a channel through which vast treasures flowed but never quite rested."
• Othman ash-Shrawi: Elder brother of Nouf, Othman ash-Shrawi is the one closest to her. Friend of Nayir, Othman contracts his tracking services to find Nouf. Othman was engaged to marry in a couple months, but the family crisis put things on hold.
• Tahsin ash-Shrawi: Eldest son of the Shrawi family. Husband of Zahra, and father of nine children.
• Fahad ash-Shrawi: Brother of Nouf, and husband of Zahra.
• Qazi ash-Shrawi: Nouf's fiancé. Scion of the biggest shoe import business in Jeddah. "There was an air of caution about him, and an immediate impression of grace; he was like a giraffe in the savanna, ears sharply poised to listen for danger, and like a giraffe, there was something sad and oddly vulnerable about him."
• Nusra ash-Shrawi, aka "Um Tahsin": Matriarch of the Shrawi family. Mother to Nouf's brothers and sisters. Blind, but very perceptive.
• Muruj ash-Shrawi: Oldest daughter of the Shrawi family. Nouf's eldest sister.
• Abir ash-Shrawi: Nouf's younger sister, in appearance like an identical twin. "Abir was most like Nouf, not in temperment exactly, but in position. Young. Eligible."
• Fadilah: Wife of Tahsin, Nouf's eldest brother.
• Zahra: Wife of Fahad, Nouf's older brother.
• Huda: A female Shwari cousin from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
• Ibrahim Suleiman: A son of on of the Shrawi servants. A Bedouin.
• Abdullah Maamoon: Medical examiner at the Jeddah coroner's office.
• Salwa: A female staffmember of the Jeddah coroner's office.
• Amad: Camel keeper for the Shrawi estate.
• Sulaiman Suhail: Private investigator.
• Mutlaq: Nayir's friend; a Bedouin tracker, the best of those assisting in the search for Nouf. From the Murrah tribe.
• Samir: Nayir's bachelor uncle, who raised him after the death of his parents. A chemist and archeologist who took Nayir with him on his digs.
• Fatimah: The only woman that Nayir had ever dreamt of courting.
• Eissa Qahtani: Clothing vendor in Jeddah. Brother of Sha'aban.
• Sha'aban Qahtani: Clothing vendor in Jeddah. Brother of Eissa.
• Muhammad Ramdani: Nouf's personal driver and escort. A family man.
• Eric Scarsberry: An American expatriate; an oil research analyst that Nouf was reputed to be acquainted with.
• Majid: Nayir's neighbor and friend. The other bachelor in their neighborhood.
• Ahed Jahiz: An optometrist in Jeddah. Originally from Cairo.
• Juliet: A bazaar vendor of paper art

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: Pop. 3.2 million; the largest sea port on the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia's main business and banking hub. Principal gateway to the holy city of Mecca. Population 3.2 million.

First Sentence edit see section history

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Gender Roles: Describe this theme.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Followed by City of Veils.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Zoë Ferraris (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Alex Awards (2009)
• Macavity Awards (Finalist, 2009: Best First Mystery)
• Los Angeles Times Book Prize (2009: The Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PS3606.E738 F56
• Dewey: 813.6

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Mystery & Thrillers › Mystery
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Literary
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary

More Books Like This edit see section history