The Salmiya Collection by Craig Loomis

    This book is not really out there yet, but it should be. It's by Professor Craig Loomis, associate professor of English literature at the American University of Kuwait. Pip and I both took classes with Loomis, and we have to admit that we barely scraped by. He set very high standards for his students, and judging by this book, it's not hard to see why.
    Loomis lived in Kuwait for 9 years, and he documented these years through short anecdotes and observations found in the novel. Most of the stories begin in medias res, but readers are not thrown off. Certainly, people who have not spent time in the Middle East would find certain concepts to be difficult to grasp, and there are certain cases in which Arabs may be portrayed in a bad light (whether intentionally or not). Regardless, most of the stories are given the disclaimer that they maintain a very subjective point of view and can therefore not be taken to be absolute raw and unprejudiced opinions of Kuwaiti society. Plus, it's important to note that the book is entitled The Salmiya Collection and not The Kuwait Collection. Salmiya is a Kuwaiti governorate that is not highly populated with Kuwaitis; it is mostly expat Arabs and Westernerers. Be wary of that.
    Despite the minor fallacies of the novel, it's still a great read because I am so familiar with the stories being told. Arab girls desperate to find husbands, eating during the day in Ramadan, the adventures of an American professor amongst Arab students, and such other shenanigans make the book an easy and entertaining read.