Literary Fiction — The Book Roads

Gulf

Mo Ogrodnik

Set across the Arabian Gulf, Gulf follows five women from different backgrounds whose lives intersect in a region shaped by gender inequality, political conflict, economic disparity, and cultural divides. Dounia, a young Saudi woman, struggles with the restrictions of married life and the prospect of raising a daughter in a society where women’s freedom is limited. Flora, a Filipina domestic worker, leaves her surviving child behind after a devastating natural disaster forces her to seek work abroad. In Syria, Zeinah is pushed into marriage with an ISIS fighter, while Justine, an American museum curator in Abu Dhabi, confronts the contradictions between her progressive ideals and her own complicity in unequal power structures. Meanwhile, Eskedare, an Ethiopian teenager, fights to escape the circumstances that threaten to define her future. Through these interconnected stories, Ogrodnik explores the ways women navigate oppression, displacement, and moral compromise. Gulf is a powerful examination of survival, rebellion, and the struggle for agency in a world shaped by unequal power.

Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates 2025