Maid in Dubai: Dusting sand. Changing a life.

by Zana Bonafe

Over two million expats live the dream life in rides in the desert, man-made islands, and all the beauty and mystery of a cosmopolitan English and Arabic-speaking hub. They also experience the property bubble, traffic jams, and the unbearable summer heat.Thousands of maids serve these expats, cleaning their villas and apartments seven days a week, battling tirelessly to keep the sand and dust away. MAID IN DUBAI is the harrowing journey of one such maid.Meet Aubrey, a Filipino girl who works for a cleaning agency in Dubai. Aubrey sees a city that is quite different from the one presented in travel brochures. She experiences the hardships of life in a city with many secrets. From her encounters with maids who lie, steal, prostitute themselves, and swindle their bosses to the shocking stories of corrupt employers, illegal schemes, and seemingly unending greed, Aubrey reels from one scandal to another as she tries to work hard and build a better life for herself in the infamous “City of Gold”.From ironing competitions to banned sex toys, MAID IN DUBAI perfectly captures the oddities of everyday life in one of the richest cities in the world, and is a captivating, often heartbreaking tale of one maid’s struggle for empowerment in a thankless industry. MAID IN DUBAI delivers the perfect mix between Jean Sasson’s Princess setting in the Middle East and Elisabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray and Love journey of self-discovery, on a diary format, from a unique and very realistic point of view. A novel that will challenge all your perceptions about Dubai!

Genres: Fiction

263 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I very much doubt that I'm the first or last reader to mistakenly assume that this book is biographical or autobiographical in nature. Whilst reading, I was forgiving the simplistic writing style, the lack of much in the way of actual 'events' and the rather disjointed delivery as being the writing of a relatively undereducated Filipina maid. Only when I got to the end did I read that the story was entirely fictional and any similarity to real people or events was coincidental (or whatever the official legal phrase is). I'll admit I felt cheated. I'd put up with the limitations of the writing and forgiven aspects of the book because I thought it was real. It wasn't. I knocked off another star for feeling cheated.

Aubrey leaves her home in the Philippines to seek her fortune as a daily paid maid in Dubai, sharing a room with several other poorly paid women workers in Sharjah, the neighbouring Emirate. There's an authenticity to the boredom of long rides in minibuses, exploitative (but not overly) employers and the juxtaposition of great wealth of the property owners and the hard work required of the maids and the many little cons that keep things ticking over. People steal, people cheat. It's quite believable. It confronts some interesting points - such as everybody wants a balcony but nobody ever uses it, and that no matter how hard you try, sand makes a mess of even the tidiest property in just a few hours.

The plot got silly. A love-interest with a man she's been warned about is ridiculous. An incident with an electrocution just gets silly. And a battle with an incumbant maid who wants Aubrey's job is stretched a bit too far.

In some ways I'm glad it wasn't true. But I still feel cheated.

[Anchit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a refreshing read. The author mentions that she wrote her diary in the few minutes that she used to catch while either travelling to work or at night.

It felt nice to imagine how life would be if you're a maid. The author has brought out the hardships and the life quite well. However, the surprising thing for me was when I came to know that people who go there and work as maids can save a lot of money which helps them back home. They earn more money there as a maid than they do back in their countries. That's why they put up with the hectic life.

In India this is very normal though (whether you're a maid or an office employee). Your life will mostly be working 14-16 inhuman hours due to various reasons - primarily being that that's how the country herd works and not one person offers resistance to this).

I read till the 60% mark at which time I didn't feel like reading this anymore.

[Alina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in almost one sitting, as the story was fascinating. My only criticism would be that the way it was written, the language used, made it feel like it was written by someone who is a foreign maid, but actually is a collection of stories from different people, but supposedly, true. However, I do believe that the stories described are true, as I know many expats living in Dubai and the nanny/maid stories make me believe this.
Definitely worth a read for all the glitter known about Dubai.

[Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in a diary format, the book tells the story of a Filipina maid surviving in the UAE.
Compelling, insightful and a breath of fresh air.

It’s fiction inspired by true events and the way it was written makes you believe the narrator is a Filipina maid, transporting you do her own world.

I recommend.

[Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book showed a side of Dubai I never imagined. I went there for holidays and saw all the glamour and attractions. This story is from a maid’s point of view, cleaning houses. Great beach summer read.

[Patrice Geneive · Rating 5 out of 5]

it would make one wonder whether this is true or a complete BS but living in Dubai allows me to understand it to a different depth.

[dorothy cannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short book more like a diary

This is the story of a Filipino maid and her life in Dubai.
I found it very easy to read but it was not written well

[Penny Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

good read

I loved the characters in his book, the author really made them come alive.
Started to read it and couldn’t stop until I finished

[Somayya Ibrahim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable and easy read especially for someone who is an expat in the Middle East.
Really helps put things into perspective.

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

It such a hard life to work in Dubai, as a maid or labour person, Zana showed us how NOT to treat your live-in or day maid in Dubai.
Which also translates to places like Singapore, Hong Kong, any country with a strong expatriate community, where the exploitation of ‘workers to support such luxury lifestyle.