"Mirage" - Bandula Chandraratna

Just read "Mirage" by Bandula Chandraratna. About a hospital labourer in Saudi Arabia. Great writing. He uses very short sentences but manages to bring in so much imagery it doesn't feel stark at all. The closing was like the tail end of a Sri Lankan ODI innings (swift), mebbe Chandraratna got bored with writing. Still, I'd say it's the best book I've read in a while. Saudi food, eating rituals, marriage rituals, city and village life, the role of the Mutawah (all from a working class perspective) are sketched damn good. There's no obvious attempt to persue an agenda or be propagandist, which adds to the beauty on the page without necessarily losing out on political impact.