Jan 31

Jan 31 Bride of the Sea

Author: Eman Quotah
Publisher: Tin House
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

Click above to buy this book from my Bookshop.org shop, which supports independent bookstores (not Amazon). You can also find it via your favorite indie bookstore here.

Note: Trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

Cover Description

During a snowy Cleveland February, newlywed university students Muneer and Saeedah are expecting their first child, and he is harboring a secret: the word divorce is whispering in his ear. Soon, their marriage will end, and Muneer will return to Saudi Arabia, while Saeedah remains in Cleveland with their daughter, Hanadi. Consumed by a growing fear of losing her daughter, Saeedah disappears with the little girl, leaving Muneer to desperately search for his daughter for years. The repercussions of the abduction ripple outward, not only changing the lives of Hanadi and her parents, but also their interwoven family and friends—those who must choose sides and hide their own deeply guarded secrets.

And when Hanadi comes of age, she finds herself at the center of this conflict, torn between the world she grew up in and a family across the ocean. How can she exist between parents, between countries?

Eman Quotah’s Bride of the Sea is a spellbinding debut of colliding cultures, immigration, religion, and family; an intimate portrait of loss and healing; and, ultimately, a testament to the ways we find ourselves inside love, distance, and heartbreak.

TL;DR Review

Bride of the Sea is a beautiful debut about belonging, culture, and family; a vivid story following three unforgettable characters over the course of many years.

For you if: You like stories that span decades.

Full Review

“At night, lying on a thin mattress next to his brother with the book-hard pillows he wasn’t used to anymore, Muneer wanted to put his hand into his chest and pull his whole heart out. He tried. He placed his fingers against his sternum and pressed harder and harder until it hurt and his fingers seized up and he had to go outside to stretch them out and moan with pain and grief because he might wake up his brother if he stayed inside.”

Bride of the Sea is a truly beautiful debut. Eamon Qotah has crafted a rich, sweeping, emotional story about three sharply defined and unforgettable characters. I enjoyed this book very much — thank you to Tin House for the review copy.

The three main characters are Muneer and Saeedah/Sadie, who are briefly married, and Hanadi/Hannah, their daughter. A few years after Muneer and Saeedah divorce and he moves back to Jidda, Saudi Arabia, Saeedah disappears with Hanadi. Over the course of decades and across oceans, the book alternates through the three characters’ perspectives as Muneer never gives up on finding his daughter, Hannah seeks belonging and family, and Sadie reckons with the world she’s created for herself.

I’m a sucker for beautiful prose and characters who carry the reader through both heartbreak and joy. I loved all three of them in their own way — Muneer with his big heart, Sadie with her individualism and drive, and Hannah with her fierce determination to be her own person.

This also may be the first book I’ve read that takes place (partly) in Saudi Arabia. You can feel Quotah’s love for the country and for Jidda, even as characters push back against or resist some of the particularly conservative or patriarchal aspects of its culture.

All in all, a really lovely debut. If you like books that span decades and deal with themes of family, culture, and identity, pick this one up.