Brilliant

by Denise Roig

Brilliant is a collection of short stories set in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, a polyglot city where cultures collide and converge, where money -- and sometimes justice -- is no object, where in less than two generations towers have replaced tents. In these dozen-plus stories, a mixed grill of characters -- an Egyptian pastry chef, a Filipina nanny, a Canadian nurse, a cross-dressing Emirati -- navigate this land of sudden plenty, discovering the limits of freedom, money, tolerance and their own good sense. Several linked stories hinge on a hit-and-run bicycle accident in which Victor, an Australian expat, is killed. If the Emirati authorities know who's responsible, they're not saying. But more important than whodunit is the impact the accident has on Victor's racing mates, each wrestling with careers, women and the complex, dangerous pleasures of expat life in the richest city in the world. In the title story, a couple, who've spent their long marriage in the Gulf, are returning to Liverpool with nothing but memories of a lavish life. For all the years abroad, theirs has been a tiny, contained world, in many ways as insular as that of Asma in Coffee, an Emirati girl searching for meaning and a little excitement in a life of unimagined wealth and entitlement. Folded into these everyday lives are the myths and urban legends that swirl around the place like sand. In a society where a tourist can be jailed for taking photos of the wrong monument, yet where a sheikh can traffic in drugs with impunity, an underground life springs up -- rich, extreme and sometimes darkly humorous.

244 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Denise Roig is the author of two critically received collections of short stories: A Quiet Night and a Perfect End (Nuage Editions), and Any Day Now (Signature Editions), and the memoir Butter Cream A Year in a Montreal Pastry School (Signature Editions). Her new book is Brilliant, a collection of short stories set in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Denise’s first collection was translated in 2000 as Le Vrai Secret du bonheur (Éditions de la Pleine Lune) and her fiction has been heard on CBC’s Between the Covers. As a journalist, Denise’s work has appeared in The Gazette (Montreal) and The National (Abu Dhabi). Denise is the co-editor, with her husband Raymond Beauchemin, of two anthologies of Quebec English literature: Future Tense and The Urban Wanderers Reader.

Born in New York, raised in Los Angeles, and a longtime resident of Montreal, Denise moved to Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, in 2008. She now lives in Hamilton, Ontario.

Reviews

[Jewel]

Sometimes we need to read about what others think of us - most of the time anything about the Middle East is not flattering.

Here is to hoping this one is objective.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories set in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The author lived there for several years, which enables her to capture what life is like for the many outsiders who are drawn there by the money, yet soon discover the limits that are placed on their freedom and beliefs.

I’m not always a fan of short stories, and some of these stories didn’t satisfy me because I found they left me wanting more, but that’s a fault I find with a lot of short stories so I won’t hold it against this collection. The strength of this book is that the author allows us a rare peek into UAE society and to experience what life is like in a place where few westerners get a chance to live for an extended time. It’s interesting to see what’s really going on in this oil-rich world where only relatively recently did luxury cars replace camels as the preferred mode of transportation.

[Bernard Glover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, well crafted. Denise has brought to life a world within the world that most of us know. It provides a look into the society and culture in the UAE most Canadians will never see.