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The Meeting Point
When Euan and Ruth set off with their young daughter to live in Bahrain, it is meant to be an experience and adventure they will cherish. But on the night they arrive, Ruth discovers the truth behind the missionary work Euan has planned and feels her world start to crumble. Far from home, and with events spiralling towards war in nearby Iraq, she starts to question her faith – in Euan, in their marriage and in all she has held dear.
With Euan so often away, she is confined to their guarded compound with her neighbours and, in particular, Noor, a troubled teenager recently returned to Bahrain to live with her father. Confronted by temptations and doubt, each must make choices that could change all of their lives for ever. Compelling, passionate and deeply resonant, The Meeting Point is a novel about idealism and innocence, about the unexpected turns life can take and the dangers and chances that await us.
With Euan so often away, she is confined to their guarded compound with her neighbours and, in particular, Noor, a troubled teenager recently returned to Bahrain to live with her father. Confronted by temptations and doubt, each must make choices that could change all of their lives for ever. Compelling, passionate and deeply resonant, The Meeting Point is a novel about idealism and innocence, about the unexpected turns life can take and the dangers and chances that await us.
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First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
August 16, 2018
I am wondering whether to give this book 2 stars because it was decently written. But there is absolutely nothing interesting in the book, so I guess I'll go with the lowest rating. First, I think the author cheated. The book is supposed to be set in Bahrain, but there is absolutely nothing of life in Bahrain except for the characters repeating that they are now in Bahrain. They might very well have said Kenya or Brazil or Antartica. It wouldn't have made an iota of difference.
The story follows two British women: Ruth, an Irish woman and a missionary's wife, who is there with her husband and young daughter. She is unaware of her husband's true intentions, which is to smuggle Bibles into Saudi Arabia. Then, there is Noor, an English girl who has some mysterious past that is troubling her. The narrative alternates between the viewpoints of these two characters. Both are self-obsessed to the extent that anything outside their own little worlds are cut out of the story. Which made this entire thing boring.
So basically, Ruth has an affair with Noor's cousin, Farid, who, by the way, is the only actual Bahraini with any screen time in the whole story. However, all of Farid's appearances are about his relationship with Ruth, which is one big yawn. Noor is a pathetic idiot, who whines constantly. She is also about the creepiest teenager I have seen depicted in a book. Frankly, a few more years and she would be in prison for sexual assault or something. There has been bullying in her past and it is all made into a big mystery, but it was nothing worth the hullabaloo. None of it was delved into deeply, and there is a reason why.
God-bothering. God, god, god, god, god! God said this, Bible says that. Do this for Christ, blah, blah, blah. And yet more blah! Euan was the fourth character in this horrible book, and he was the main reason why it was horrible. He went on and on about God, irritating me right from page 1. No wonder Ruth has an affair! She also loses her faith by the end of all this nonsense. And please, the Tree of Life is just 400 and odd years old, not 2000 years *eyeroll*. A simple Wiki research would have told both Caldwell and her stupid character that.
The end of this book is the most anticlimactic I have read. What's the point of it if everyone just goes back to their own lives? Seriously? And Euan wins? I was hoping he would get thrown in a Saudi jail. Blergh!
The story follows two British women: Ruth, an Irish woman and a missionary's wife, who is there with her husband and young daughter. She is unaware of her husband's true intentions, which is to smuggle Bibles into Saudi Arabia. Then, there is Noor, an English girl who has some mysterious past that is troubling her. The narrative alternates between the viewpoints of these two characters. Both are self-obsessed to the extent that anything outside their own little worlds are cut out of the story. Which made this entire thing boring.
So basically, Ruth has an affair with Noor's cousin, Farid, who, by the way, is the only actual Bahraini with any screen time in the whole story. However, all of Farid's appearances are about his relationship with Ruth, which is one big yawn. Noor is a pathetic idiot, who whines constantly. She is also about the creepiest teenager I have seen depicted in a book. Frankly, a few more years and she would be in prison for sexual assault or something. There has been bullying in her past and it is all made into a big mystery, but it was nothing worth the hullabaloo. None of it was delved into deeply, and there is a reason why.
God-bothering. God, god, god, god, god! God said this, Bible says that. Do this for Christ, blah, blah, blah. And yet more blah! Euan was the fourth character in this horrible book, and he was the main reason why it was horrible. He went on and on about God, irritating me right from page 1. No wonder Ruth has an affair! She also loses her faith by the end of all this nonsense. And please, the Tree of Life is just 400 and odd years old, not 2000 years *eyeroll*. A simple Wiki research would have told both Caldwell and her stupid character that.
The end of this book is the most anticlimactic I have read. What's the point of it if everyone just goes back to their own lives? Seriously? And Euan wins? I was hoping he would get thrown in a Saudi jail. Blergh!
June 12, 2014
In essence, the story of an Irish missionary wife who goes with her husband to Bahrain in 2003. Slowly it develops into an updated version of Madame Bovary – that old, old story of a lonely, abandoned wife who falls in love with a younger man and begins an ill-fated romance.
Ruth Armstrong’s husband Euan reveals that he is really in Bahrain to smuggle Bibles into and preach in Saudi Arabia, a dangerous calling that could lead to prison or execution. Feeling betrayed, and trapped in her compound of villas with her two-year-old daughter Anna, Ruth is delighted to strike up a friendship with one of her neighbors, Noor Hussain, a teenage girl who has been sent to live with her father after being expelled from boarding school in England due to a bullying campaign gone wrong. Noor’s cousin Farid, a handsome nineteen-year-old boy, offers to show her and Ruth the sights of Bahrain, and Noor gradually feels herself becoming one of the Armstrong family.
It sounds like a story that could have ended up quite banal – after all, the adultery plot is nothing new, and neither is a troubled character insinuating him- or herself into an established family. But several things set Caldwell’s novel apart, including the well-drawn settings (the Americanized shopping-mall culture of the Bahraini city, as well as Ruth’s remembrances of growing up on a dairy farm in Northern Ireland) and the surprisingly sensitive portrayal of Christianity, in terms of both conversion and loss of faith.
Ruth has a crisis of faith which comes to a head in a climactic scene at the fabled Bahraini ‘Tree of Life’; by the end of the novel, her heartbreak and disillusionment are muffled behind a determination to see ordinary life as in some way sacramental: “living itself is an act of faith...The act of trying, she sometimes thinks, is belief itself...You must work at faith. It never gets easier: but there is a grace, too, in this; for she would not want it easier, diminished.”
Ruth Armstrong’s husband Euan reveals that he is really in Bahrain to smuggle Bibles into and preach in Saudi Arabia, a dangerous calling that could lead to prison or execution. Feeling betrayed, and trapped in her compound of villas with her two-year-old daughter Anna, Ruth is delighted to strike up a friendship with one of her neighbors, Noor Hussain, a teenage girl who has been sent to live with her father after being expelled from boarding school in England due to a bullying campaign gone wrong. Noor’s cousin Farid, a handsome nineteen-year-old boy, offers to show her and Ruth the sights of Bahrain, and Noor gradually feels herself becoming one of the Armstrong family.
It sounds like a story that could have ended up quite banal – after all, the adultery plot is nothing new, and neither is a troubled character insinuating him- or herself into an established family. But several things set Caldwell’s novel apart, including the well-drawn settings (the Americanized shopping-mall culture of the Bahraini city, as well as Ruth’s remembrances of growing up on a dairy farm in Northern Ireland) and the surprisingly sensitive portrayal of Christianity, in terms of both conversion and loss of faith.
Ruth has a crisis of faith which comes to a head in a climactic scene at the fabled Bahraini ‘Tree of Life’; by the end of the novel, her heartbreak and disillusionment are muffled behind a determination to see ordinary life as in some way sacramental: “living itself is an act of faith...The act of trying, she sometimes thinks, is belief itself...You must work at faith. It never gets easier: but there is a grace, too, in this; for she would not want it easier, diminished.”
December 25, 2024
When I find a new author I love I try to read all of his/her works. Sometimes the brilliance is there from the start (Carys Davies,Michaels,Keegan,Malouf) and sometimes not, as in this case. I loved These Days and All The Beggars Riding but not this one. It´s a weak story, but its worst fault is that the characters´actions make no sense,there´s no context for what they do or don´t do,and many are just sketches
December 4, 2015
The first book I can say that actually annoyed me, as in I literally rolled my eyes while reading it. The religious babble was unbearably irritating, and in the end it was little more than a pseudo-love story about an unhappy housewife, which is clear from the blurb anyway. I was hoping the setting in Bahrain would add something - deeper? Edgier? Interesting? - it didn't. Cadwell's other work is great though, this was just a bit of a nothing story for me.
July 29, 2020
An unbeliever, she tells herself, struggling to wrap her mind around the words, to make her thoughts the words, to the exclusión of all else, an unbeliever watches a flower unfolding in a garden.
June 11, 2011
A Novel based in Bahrain.
I'm very torn between 3 or 4 stars on this one. On the one hand I love that it's based in Bahrain, a neighbour state to Dubai and a place that I have visited several times. I even attempted to visit the Tree of Life but my driver got lost - now I'm wondering if that was possibly a good thing! On the other hand, the book itself seemed somehow lacking and I really didn't take to the constasnt bible references, I think these could put off many readers.
Ruth and Euan Armstrong leave Ireland for a year's posting as missionaries in Bahrain. They are permitted to guide the Christians within the population but are strictly prohibited from preaching to Muslims. Euan launches himself into his work, but Ruth is left behind in the small compound with her two year old daughter, Anna. She is not comfortable with many of the residents of the compound, largely because she has discovered that there are ulterior motives to her husband's work that she is sworn to secrecy on and she is afraid that she will let something slip.
Teenage Noor is struggling to come to terms with her identity as the half British, half Bahraini, daughter of divorced parents. She has recently moved to Bahrain after an incident in her boarding school in UK. She speaks to us fluently through her diary and it was impossible not to be moved by her need for Ruth and her daughter Anna.
When Ruth meets Noor's cousin, Farid, she gets the chance to visit some interesting parts of the island, but she also causes harself a lot of problems.
In none of my visits to Bahrain have I ever experienced the constant winds that the author talked about but I did envy Ruth's opportunity to go behind the scenes into the real island, an otherwise impenetrable mystery.
This is worth reading but more for its novelty value than as a gripping read.
I'm very torn between 3 or 4 stars on this one. On the one hand I love that it's based in Bahrain, a neighbour state to Dubai and a place that I have visited several times. I even attempted to visit the Tree of Life but my driver got lost - now I'm wondering if that was possibly a good thing! On the other hand, the book itself seemed somehow lacking and I really didn't take to the constasnt bible references, I think these could put off many readers.
Ruth and Euan Armstrong leave Ireland for a year's posting as missionaries in Bahrain. They are permitted to guide the Christians within the population but are strictly prohibited from preaching to Muslims. Euan launches himself into his work, but Ruth is left behind in the small compound with her two year old daughter, Anna. She is not comfortable with many of the residents of the compound, largely because she has discovered that there are ulterior motives to her husband's work that she is sworn to secrecy on and she is afraid that she will let something slip.
Teenage Noor is struggling to come to terms with her identity as the half British, half Bahraini, daughter of divorced parents. She has recently moved to Bahrain after an incident in her boarding school in UK. She speaks to us fluently through her diary and it was impossible not to be moved by her need for Ruth and her daughter Anna.
When Ruth meets Noor's cousin, Farid, she gets the chance to visit some interesting parts of the island, but she also causes harself a lot of problems.
In none of my visits to Bahrain have I ever experienced the constant winds that the author talked about but I did envy Ruth's opportunity to go behind the scenes into the real island, an otherwise impenetrable mystery.
This is worth reading but more for its novelty value than as a gripping read.
March 4, 2011
Euan Armstrong takes his young family to Bahrain, ostensibly to undertake missionary work; but Euan’s wife Ruth begins to question all that she holds dear when she discovers the true nature of that work. Meanwhile, teenage Noor Hussain has returned to Bahrain from England to live with her father; she has struggled to fit in and is contemplating suicide. But then Noor finds new hope in the person of Ruth, just as Ruth is falling for Noor’s brother Farid.
There are times, particularly towards the beginning, when Caldwell’s description feels over-egged; but The Meeting Point ultimately succeeds because of the elegance with which it portrays its central dynamic. Both Ruth and Noor have unrealistic desires which will inevitably lead them to clash; the progression of those events is thoroughly credible. Caldwell also draws her protagonists deftly; there’s a nice contrast between the broad strokes of Noor’s teenage impulsiveness, and Ruth’s more measured personality. All in all, The Meeting Point is a well-wrought novel that’s very much worth reading.
There are times, particularly towards the beginning, when Caldwell’s description feels over-egged; but The Meeting Point ultimately succeeds because of the elegance with which it portrays its central dynamic. Both Ruth and Noor have unrealistic desires which will inevitably lead them to clash; the progression of those events is thoroughly credible. Caldwell also draws her protagonists deftly; there’s a nice contrast between the broad strokes of Noor’s teenage impulsiveness, and Ruth’s more measured personality. All in all, The Meeting Point is a well-wrought novel that’s very much worth reading.
February 10, 2012
I had high expectations for this book. sadly.
I was waiting for this book ever since I heard it was set in Bahrain.
when I started reading it I was shocked to see what it was all about!
The story is meaningless and the writer talks about Bahrain as if it was another country. It only shows how little she knows about Bahrain and Islam.
The whole story is about an Irish couple who decide to move to Bahrain for work, but it turns out that the reason they came was to try to introduce people in Saudi Arabia to Christianity. And the husband has the mission to take a number of bibles across the border for that purpose.
They meet a Bahraini family who represents nothing of Bahrain from the way the book is written about them.
All I can say s that it seems that this author found a map of Bahrain and that's as far as she knows about it!
A waste of time, Don't bother reading it.
I was waiting for this book ever since I heard it was set in Bahrain.
when I started reading it I was shocked to see what it was all about!
The story is meaningless and the writer talks about Bahrain as if it was another country. It only shows how little she knows about Bahrain and Islam.
The whole story is about an Irish couple who decide to move to Bahrain for work, but it turns out that the reason they came was to try to introduce people in Saudi Arabia to Christianity. And the husband has the mission to take a number of bibles across the border for that purpose.
They meet a Bahraini family who represents nothing of Bahrain from the way the book is written about them.
All I can say s that it seems that this author found a map of Bahrain and that's as far as she knows about it!
A waste of time, Don't bother reading it.
February 7, 2013
The synopsis on the back of this book was very misleading. I thought I was getting terrorist plots and kidnapping's. What I got was a very thinly stretched story about faith.
Bahrain is a country steeped in history and culture. None of which is expressed in this boring predictable story.
I should have known not to read a book with stickers printed on the cover. ¬_¬
Bahrain is a country steeped in history and culture. None of which is expressed in this boring predictable story.
I should have known not to read a book with stickers printed on the cover. ¬_¬
December 9, 2011
As someone who has lived in Bahrain for many years, I was pleased that the author had done a reasonable amount of research into what life here is really like. But ultimately the plot was thin and the storyline rushed. Not too convincing; but an enjoyable read nevertheless.
January 10, 2013
I guess I did not like it because I thought it was a little offensive, it draws a wrong distorted picture about families in Bahrain. Being from Bahrain made it hard for me to accept the story.
December 21, 2017
I'm not sure why I stuck with reading this book. A set of horrible, selfish characters.....nothing redeeming about this book.
April 1, 2018
I read in one review this story was similar to Madame Bovary. I don´t think so. Both Emma and Ruth are in marriages in crisis and both have affairs and consider leaving their husbands but that is all the commonality I saw between the two women.
Euan and Ruth are newly married with a young daughter. He is a minister in Ireland. They are both excited about their mission to Bahrain for a few months. However, when they arrive in Manama, Bahrain, Ruth learns the true nature of Euan´s mission which is to smuggle Bibles into Saudia Arabia. She feels betrayed that he lied to her and also could potentially put her life and their daughter´s life in danger. While he is busy with the local church from early morning to late at night, Ruth must fend for herself. She has a few expat friends but has befriended Noor, a Bahraini (who is also half English) girl who looks after her daughter. Noor is a troubled teenage girl which Ruth hasn´t discovered until it´s too late. She also befriends Noor´s cousin, Farid, and starts an affair with him. Not only is this dangerous to her marriage but is against the laws of Bahrain.
Noor wants to be a part of Ruth´s family. Realizing she won´t be, she kidnaps the daughter at the same time Euan is on his smuggling mission. Everyone, except Euan, gets involved in finding Noor.
During this time Ruth loses her faith in God and the church. She struggles to find out what life is supposed to be about. Noor, on the other hand, is learning about Christianity and is also finding ways to resolve her troubled past.
One interesting tidbit I learned was that the Coalition invaded Iraq on a Muslim holiday, the Changing of the Qilban (sp?). This is the day the Prophet Mohammed required Muslims to pray in the direction of Mecca not in the same direction as the Jews. Interesting.
Not a bad book. Not a lot of action. I didn´t like the way the kidnapping problem was resolved. There were maybe 2 sentences and no details.
Euan and Ruth are newly married with a young daughter. He is a minister in Ireland. They are both excited about their mission to Bahrain for a few months. However, when they arrive in Manama, Bahrain, Ruth learns the true nature of Euan´s mission which is to smuggle Bibles into Saudia Arabia. She feels betrayed that he lied to her and also could potentially put her life and their daughter´s life in danger. While he is busy with the local church from early morning to late at night, Ruth must fend for herself. She has a few expat friends but has befriended Noor, a Bahraini (who is also half English) girl who looks after her daughter. Noor is a troubled teenage girl which Ruth hasn´t discovered until it´s too late. She also befriends Noor´s cousin, Farid, and starts an affair with him. Not only is this dangerous to her marriage but is against the laws of Bahrain.
Noor wants to be a part of Ruth´s family. Realizing she won´t be, she kidnaps the daughter at the same time Euan is on his smuggling mission. Everyone, except Euan, gets involved in finding Noor.
During this time Ruth loses her faith in God and the church. She struggles to find out what life is supposed to be about. Noor, on the other hand, is learning about Christianity and is also finding ways to resolve her troubled past.
One interesting tidbit I learned was that the Coalition invaded Iraq on a Muslim holiday, the Changing of the Qilban (sp?). This is the day the Prophet Mohammed required Muslims to pray in the direction of Mecca not in the same direction as the Jews. Interesting.
Not a bad book. Not a lot of action. I didn´t like the way the kidnapping problem was resolved. There were maybe 2 sentences and no details.
January 4, 2018
This would a book I'd not normally read. It isn't the Lucy Caldwell I know from Multitudes, All the Beggars Riding and The Furthest Distance. It was a slow starter. Largely because, yuck, religion. I read the first 200 pages not knowing what to think about it. It wasn't bad, just kinda meh. Once it started really picking up and had me flipping the pages as fast as I could. I shouted NO at the book a few times, hoping that Ruth wouldn't have to 'pay' for her crimes by having her daughter die. The religion didn't annoy me and I liked the ideas of the exotic middle east. It could be read as a bit cultural appropriation-y, but felt ok, because it was exotic Ireland as well. It was incorrectly named and obviously marketed to be one of those summer read page turners, but it was more than that. I wanted her to delve into the affair quicker. I liked her portrayal of Ruth and Noor and their similarities (both falling under the spell of wanting to be accepted vis a vis a cute religious guy). I needed more reason for Ruth and Farid besides his big dark eyes. What did they talk about? Perhaps if I saw that, it wouldn't be interesting to read. At first with Ruth and Farid, it was all about Bahrain and Tree of Life but it was just assumed they were in love. And I believed in the love and I also thought it was typical of the situation, which was real to me. I am torn between 3 and 4 stars for this. I liked it, it was readable, but I wasn't moved or shook or see the world differently.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 5, 2023
Around-the-world #170: Bahrain 🇧🇭.
Lucy Caldwell can write very well, but the story in this book is one that has been done hundreds of times before. A married Western couple moves to Bahrain, the wife falls in love with a young and handsome local man, everything ends well. Fill in the details yourself. There is also the continual proselytising of Christianity, which annoyed me a lot. Other than that, an easy but forgettable read.
Lucy Caldwell can write very well, but the story in this book is one that has been done hundreds of times before. A married Western couple moves to Bahrain, the wife falls in love with a young and handsome local man, everything ends well. Fill in the details yourself. There is also the continual proselytising of Christianity, which annoyed me a lot. Other than that, an easy but forgettable read.
December 3, 2017
There are some passages that are beautifully written. She is a good writer, but what was missing for me were the relationships. I never felt the love between Ruth and Farid. I also never felt the love between Ruth and her daughter. If those relationships had been better developed, I would have been more emotionally involved in the story.
December 12, 2019
A young couple come to Bahrain in 2000 for a few months as part of their work with the church. The husband reveals a secret to his wife and this breaks open her world, in particular her faith in her husband and in her religion. She meets a young man and has a passionate affair. The story is very fast paced and yet very thoughtful at the same time.
June 11, 2020
A reasonably diverting read about two women in difficult situations coming to terms with themselves. For the most part, I liked the treatment of Ruth's faith struggles, and that's something I can get picky about. You get the sense throughout that the story is coming to some major confrontation, and it does, but the resolution feels a little too neat.
June 20, 2018
I was going to give this book two stars because it wasn’t badly written despite all the characters being selfish, ignorant and annoying. But by the end of the book I was too annoyed to give it more than one star.
September 10, 2024
A lot of goodreads reviews say this doesn't have much to say about Bahrain, and that may well be true. It had more to say about evangelicals from Northern Ireland. It's like Madame Bovary if she was from Strangford.
May 13, 2018
Love and betrayal set in Bahrain. Number of biblical references, which although fitting in with the story were a bit too long for me.
September 10, 2020
Bahrain
June 24, 2022
Irish smuggling minister’s young wife gets tempted by local attractions on their move to Bahrain. An easy read.
April 10, 2016
Oh I do love second hand bookstalls! Here is a gem of a story I acquired from a second hand book stall in the National Trust shop at Birling Gap of all places! A sensitive exploration of faith and doubt, love and longing, guilt and forgiveness against the background of Bahrain on the eve of the Second Gulf War.
"Living itself is an act of faith"
Noor is a teenager carrying a very big load of guilt having been expelled from her expensive boarding school in the uk for an unspecified reason and now hiding out in Bahrain with her father who has newly discovered his Muslim roots. When a Christian pastor and his wife and baby move in next door Noor, bored and in need of distraction from her self loathing, initiates a contact with the pastor's wife. Do not be deceived by the Christian dogma. This is not an evangelistic story dressed up in foreign guise though superficial reading of the early chapters may suggest this. Ruth, the pastor's wife discovers her husband has been at best economical with the truth about why they are there and is hardly in a position to respond empathically to the troubled Noor. When Noor produces a handsome cousin who is happy to take them both sightseeing Ruth seizes the opportunity to leave the compound and see the real Bahrain.
Superficially theologically simplistic with Ruth's naiveity and Euan's evangelistic zeal at the heart of the story Caldwell weaves a complex tale questioning evangelistic fervour and formulaic routes to faith and takes the opportunity along the way to explode some myths about Bahraini society . Certainly all the characters are changed by their encounters with each other but as to whether any or all of those changes also have a divine element the author wisely refrains from commenting directly on. Christians however may reflect that Noor, so desperately in need of forgiveness and unable to confess to anyone she knows, encountered God's forgiveness and redemption despite the "good Christian" Ruth.
However this is no quick fix story. Noor and Ruth have much to learn about themselves and those closest them and when Noor kidnaps baby Anna the story takes on a darker hue.
The Meeting Point is a story that has a great depth to it and gives much for the reader to ponder on. When a troubled person is offered a lifeline through prayer this does not mean that the person holding the lifeline can abdicate responsibility. There's a lot of talk these days about all adults being responsible for children, teens and vulnerable adults in the community. Too much lip-service and document quoting is given to thus on my view and not enough real commitment. Whatever redemptive formula we may be hawking we must never let this take the place of a real person who cares and is prepared to go the distance.
As a lifelong Christian and a clergy wife I feel that Caldwell has dipped a toe into a great heritage of faith inspired literature and succeeded in creating a thoughtful and thought provoking story. I can't step out of my Christian skin and read this through other eyes but I am aware that the overt references to the Bible or to specific Christian teaching may put some non Christian readers off while ironically her restraint in storytelling may upset the evangelistic tub thumpers. However as they say.... You cannot please all of the people all of the time.
"Living itself is an act of faith"
Noor is a teenager carrying a very big load of guilt having been expelled from her expensive boarding school in the uk for an unspecified reason and now hiding out in Bahrain with her father who has newly discovered his Muslim roots. When a Christian pastor and his wife and baby move in next door Noor, bored and in need of distraction from her self loathing, initiates a contact with the pastor's wife. Do not be deceived by the Christian dogma. This is not an evangelistic story dressed up in foreign guise though superficial reading of the early chapters may suggest this. Ruth, the pastor's wife discovers her husband has been at best economical with the truth about why they are there and is hardly in a position to respond empathically to the troubled Noor. When Noor produces a handsome cousin who is happy to take them both sightseeing Ruth seizes the opportunity to leave the compound and see the real Bahrain.
Superficially theologically simplistic with Ruth's naiveity and Euan's evangelistic zeal at the heart of the story Caldwell weaves a complex tale questioning evangelistic fervour and formulaic routes to faith and takes the opportunity along the way to explode some myths about Bahraini society . Certainly all the characters are changed by their encounters with each other but as to whether any or all of those changes also have a divine element the author wisely refrains from commenting directly on. Christians however may reflect that Noor, so desperately in need of forgiveness and unable to confess to anyone she knows, encountered God's forgiveness and redemption despite the "good Christian" Ruth.
However this is no quick fix story. Noor and Ruth have much to learn about themselves and those closest them and when Noor kidnaps baby Anna the story takes on a darker hue.
The Meeting Point is a story that has a great depth to it and gives much for the reader to ponder on. When a troubled person is offered a lifeline through prayer this does not mean that the person holding the lifeline can abdicate responsibility. There's a lot of talk these days about all adults being responsible for children, teens and vulnerable adults in the community. Too much lip-service and document quoting is given to thus on my view and not enough real commitment. Whatever redemptive formula we may be hawking we must never let this take the place of a real person who cares and is prepared to go the distance.
As a lifelong Christian and a clergy wife I feel that Caldwell has dipped a toe into a great heritage of faith inspired literature and succeeded in creating a thoughtful and thought provoking story. I can't step out of my Christian skin and read this through other eyes but I am aware that the overt references to the Bible or to specific Christian teaching may put some non Christian readers off while ironically her restraint in storytelling may upset the evangelistic tub thumpers. However as they say.... You cannot please all of the people all of the time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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April 11, 2015I know what it is like to be a keen young deacon in the Anglican Church. I also know what it is like when your faith slowly withers and dies, losing all relevance. Euan is a young Anglican deacon from Ireland, who accepts a brief posting to the Anglican community of Bahrain, with his wife Ruth and their young daughter Anna. This is shortly before the outbreak of the Second Gulf War.
When Ruth discovers that her husband has not revealed the full extent of his mission, she finds herself—emotionally at least—all but alone in Bahrain, and her faith begins to crumble. She meets a troubled young teenager, Noor, who has moved from England to Bahrain with her Muslim father, following a serious incident at her school. Noor becomes involved with Ruth and her husband, looking after young Anna at every opportunity. Ruth also meets Noor’s cousin, Farid, nineteen years old.
The story is told exclusively from the intimate point of view of Ruth and Noor. Other characters come and go, but none take centre stage. Everything is viewed and lived through the eyes of Ruth and Noor. This is their emotional, spiritual and psychological journey.
Those who are looking for action and adventure should not turn to this book. There is tension and even suspense here, but the essential story takes place inside the minds of these two characters. What happens is much less important than their response to it. There is surprisingly little external dialogue here, but a great deal of internal dialogue and introspection. This will not appeal to everyone. Some readers may become irritated with these characters, perhaps Ruth in particular, because of their poor judgement and questionable decisions. Nevertheless I felt that there was some real honesty and insight here.
There are some grammatical issues that I thought the editors at Faber and Faber might have addressed. I am used to seeing such things in self-published books—comma splices, mismatched subject and verb, misplaced commas—but I would have expected a more exacting standard here. The author also slips sometimes between past and future tenses. I can understand why for literary reasons an author might decide to adopt the present tense at times—to create a particular sense of immediacy perhaps—but the reasons here were not immediately obvious.
I found the ending satisfactory, with loose ends tied up. I was particularly interested in how Ruth’s character and spirituality developed. While at times I thought it might develop into such, this was not an apology for Anglicanism or any other version of the Christian faith. Again there was a certain truth and honesty here.
Some will simply be bored with this book. I enjoyed it, even though the introspection may at times be a little overdone. I also enjoyed it—perhaps—because I had a view from the inside. I give this four stars.
When Ruth discovers that her husband has not revealed the full extent of his mission, she finds herself—emotionally at least—all but alone in Bahrain, and her faith begins to crumble. She meets a troubled young teenager, Noor, who has moved from England to Bahrain with her Muslim father, following a serious incident at her school. Noor becomes involved with Ruth and her husband, looking after young Anna at every opportunity. Ruth also meets Noor’s cousin, Farid, nineteen years old.
The story is told exclusively from the intimate point of view of Ruth and Noor. Other characters come and go, but none take centre stage. Everything is viewed and lived through the eyes of Ruth and Noor. This is their emotional, spiritual and psychological journey.
Those who are looking for action and adventure should not turn to this book. There is tension and even suspense here, but the essential story takes place inside the minds of these two characters. What happens is much less important than their response to it. There is surprisingly little external dialogue here, but a great deal of internal dialogue and introspection. This will not appeal to everyone. Some readers may become irritated with these characters, perhaps Ruth in particular, because of their poor judgement and questionable decisions. Nevertheless I felt that there was some real honesty and insight here.
There are some grammatical issues that I thought the editors at Faber and Faber might have addressed. I am used to seeing such things in self-published books—comma splices, mismatched subject and verb, misplaced commas—but I would have expected a more exacting standard here. The author also slips sometimes between past and future tenses. I can understand why for literary reasons an author might decide to adopt the present tense at times—to create a particular sense of immediacy perhaps—but the reasons here were not immediately obvious.
I found the ending satisfactory, with loose ends tied up. I was particularly interested in how Ruth’s character and spirituality developed. While at times I thought it might develop into such, this was not an apology for Anglicanism or any other version of the Christian faith. Again there was a certain truth and honesty here.
Some will simply be bored with this book. I enjoyed it, even though the introspection may at times be a little overdone. I also enjoyed it—perhaps—because I had a view from the inside. I give this four stars.
October 21, 2016
This book was included in listings of books set in Bahrain, which was up on my Reading Around the World List. Not by a native author, but I added it anyway because of the numbers of reviews and acclaim. My opinion of this book is divided. Caldwell is an accomplished author, and the first chapters in the book are one of those passages so well written that you stop and reread some of the sentences to take in the language. But the plot has some issues. We meet Ruth and Euan on the way to Bahrain to fill in for a missionary. Faith is a huge part of the story and while it might bother some with the emphasis on New Testament readings and evangelism (not what I typically expect from Anglicans?) this did not detract for me. But, Ruth is a faithful women, following her husband wherever he leads (Biblical allegory?) who loses her faith, whooosh, when her husband has been less than honest, and then she goes to see the purported Tree of Life on one of the Bahranian islands... Bahrain is supposed to be the mythical Eden. It is tawdry and not what she expected, and somehow this translates into her faith itself being tawdry and shallow. It doesn't really hold true. Once she falls, she falls hard into adultery in an even more than usual unwise situation, with a much younger man who could be executed in this Islamic country. We follow Ruth on her journey around her faith and what it means, what her marriage means, while we are also tiptoeing around with Noor, an English-Iranian who is living in Bahrain with her divorced father following a tragedy in England. Noor is the typical moody teenager, wanting attention and love, and she convinces herself that she is getting that from Ruth when she takes to caring for Ruth's toddler, Anna. The tension between what is real and what is believed moves between Ruth and God, and Noor and Ruth. Ruth sees an annoying teenager she uses to care for Anna while she is with her lover; Noor sees love and acceptance from a perfect woman. What turns out to be is, an imperfect woman who is doing her best, perhaps Caldwell's take on the Biblical Ruth and God as well. A scary incident brings it all to a head. I would have wished for a more in-depth view of Euan, who is a stereotype and an annoying one at that, and what choices Ruth makes rather than just going with the flow. Overall, a decent read and a good picture of another country.
August 26, 2025
This is the ennui of the everyday life in Bahrein seen through the eyes of an expatriate confined mainly to a walled compound, a Northern Irishwoman of Christian Fundamentalist persuasion whose husband has come here as a clandestine missionary planning to secretly distribute bibles across the border, into Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately this potentially exciting plot-line turns out to be a secondary sub-plot.
The main plot is about something that will have affected many of us: becoming sexually involved and falling in love with someone who is completely the wrong person, living the wrong kind of life in the wrong place. The fact that the two characters are her, a Christian Fundamentalist (but losing her faith) and him, a Shia exiled from Iran (and who isn't really very religious in the first place) gives them both an exotic dimension.
The really interesting aspects (for me) of this quite large-scale novel is the descriptions of the lives of the women (local and foreign) who live and work on the island of Bahrein, and the sights and sounds of the place, described in a muscular writing style that remains firmly in control and strides forward, with no lapses into sentimentality.
The story involves frequent, and very strange Northern Irish Christian Fundamentalist biblical allusions that were over my head; the intended contrast between this very particular version of Christianity and equally particular local versions of Islam doesn't really amount to much.
One of the really interesting elements is the immigrant women who clean the floors and cook the meals, and who act as a a kind of background chorus. A very intriguing and strongly written novel about women and their concerns that puts men, and their concerns, in the background. An early work from an Author who is turning out to be one of Ireland's best.
The main plot is about something that will have affected many of us: becoming sexually involved and falling in love with someone who is completely the wrong person, living the wrong kind of life in the wrong place. The fact that the two characters are her, a Christian Fundamentalist (but losing her faith) and him, a Shia exiled from Iran (and who isn't really very religious in the first place) gives them both an exotic dimension.
The really interesting aspects (for me) of this quite large-scale novel is the descriptions of the lives of the women (local and foreign) who live and work on the island of Bahrein, and the sights and sounds of the place, described in a muscular writing style that remains firmly in control and strides forward, with no lapses into sentimentality.
The story involves frequent, and very strange Northern Irish Christian Fundamentalist biblical allusions that were over my head; the intended contrast between this very particular version of Christianity and equally particular local versions of Islam doesn't really amount to much.
One of the really interesting elements is the immigrant women who clean the floors and cook the meals, and who act as a a kind of background chorus. A very intriguing and strongly written novel about women and their concerns that puts men, and their concerns, in the background. An early work from an Author who is turning out to be one of Ireland's best.
November 1, 2011
This is the sort of book that it hard to put down. The author is a well-regarded playwright, and it shows. The dramatic tension buids steadily and the dialogue is taut.
The novel is well structured too, alternating the perspectives of two different - but equally disaffected - women. In the unfamiliar surroundings of Bahrain, Ruth a young wife and mother, starts to question her faith and her marriage. One of her neighbours, the confused teeenager, Noor becomes attached to her. But Noor's cousin Farid also is drawn to Ruth.
I felt that I was taken into another world here. Or perhaps two other worlds. There's the claustrophobic world of the expat community. And there's the Bahrain that Ruth gets to know as she starts to spend time with Farid.
However it's one of those novels that seems a little less satisfying when it's all over. Perhaps the novel takes on too many Big Issues (Christianity and Islam, East vs West, passion vs duty, evangelism vs respct for other ways of being) and tries to resolve them all too quickly and neatly. The final chapter - a sort of epilogue - feels particularly contrived. I would have preferred to make up my own mind about what happened to everybody later.
On the other hand Lucy Caldwell writes about longing and transgression, with subtle accuracy. So I'll try to get hold of her first novel. As well as looking forward to whatever comes next.
The novel is well structured too, alternating the perspectives of two different - but equally disaffected - women. In the unfamiliar surroundings of Bahrain, Ruth a young wife and mother, starts to question her faith and her marriage. One of her neighbours, the confused teeenager, Noor becomes attached to her. But Noor's cousin Farid also is drawn to Ruth.
I felt that I was taken into another world here. Or perhaps two other worlds. There's the claustrophobic world of the expat community. And there's the Bahrain that Ruth gets to know as she starts to spend time with Farid.
However it's one of those novels that seems a little less satisfying when it's all over. Perhaps the novel takes on too many Big Issues (Christianity and Islam, East vs West, passion vs duty, evangelism vs respct for other ways of being) and tries to resolve them all too quickly and neatly. The final chapter - a sort of epilogue - feels particularly contrived. I would have preferred to make up my own mind about what happened to everybody later.
On the other hand Lucy Caldwell writes about longing and transgression, with subtle accuracy. So I'll try to get hold of her first novel. As well as looking forward to whatever comes next.
March 6, 2014
Book at Bedtime
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/...
blurb - When Euan and Ruth Armstrong set off with their young daughter, Anna, to live in Bahrain, it is meant to be an experience and adventure they will cherish. But on the night they arrive, Ruth discovers the truth behind the missionary work Euan has planned and feels her world start to crumble. She starts to question her faith - in Euan, in their marriage, and in all she has held dear.
With Euan so often away, Ruth is confined to their guarded compound with her neighbours and, in particular, Noor, a troubled teenager recently returned to Bahrain to live with her father. Confronted by temptations and doubt, both Ruth and Noor must make choices that could change all of their lives forever.
The Meeting Point is Lucy Caldwell's second novel, a story of idealism, innocence, and the unexpected turns life can take and the dangers and chances that await us.
The readers are Laura Pyper and Yasmin Paige.
The Meeting Point was abridged by Doreen Estall and produced by Heather Larmour.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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