Purchase
A fierce, funny debut novel of journalists at war--or waiting for one that never quite arrives--based on the Gulf War experiences of a renowned New York Times correspondent
PublicAffairs
April 2006
375 pages
ISBN: 1586483684
Hardcover
Add to Wish List
Fiction
Dhahran Palace Hotel, Saudi Arabia, 1991. The US
forces are massing on the border with Iraq, preparing to
throw Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait. Men and material are
arriving daily, helicopters and armor are training in the
desert sand. There are rumors of Scud missiles, talk of the
possibility of chemical attack, but in fact, nothing is
really happening. With no story to report, the press is
getting restive. The Sand Cafe is a satire of modern war reporting that
mercilessly exposes the life of the foreign correspondent:
endless scurrying trips in pursuit of a really big story,
gathering frustration, brewing jealousy directed towards
other reporters, especially those from better financed TV
networks, and the stale smell of damp rot that comes from a
combination of leaking air-conditioning and wretched
carpeting in the hotel where the entire bedraggled press
corps is housed. Boredom massages idle thoughts into wild
excesses, even in a country that officially bans the sale of
alcohol. Neil MacFarquhar, a veteran of the Middle East foreign press
corps, has written a woundingly witty black comedy of those
who bring us news from the front lines, exposing their
vanities, rivalries and petty distractions. Love, lust for
fame and the magnificent gilded hypocrisy of the regime in
Saudi make this novel as revealing as it is compelling.
Comments
No comments posted.
Registered users may leave comments.
Log in or register now!
| 
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy