Originally published in Cairo in 1998 this carefully crafted novel representsa welcome addition to a body of literature that has so far received less thanthe at... » 

Originally published in Cairo in 1998 this carefully crafted novel representsa welcome addition to a body of literature that has so far received less thanthe attention it merits by comparison with that of Egypt and the Levant. Setamong the oil wells of the Basra region of southern Iraq where the writerspent much of his working life the novel draws on the authors own experiencesto paint a picture at once subtle and vivid of relations between the Britishand their local employees in the 1950s. «