About the Author

Abdul Rahman Munif was a Saudi novelist. His novels included strong political elements as well as mockeries of the Middle Eastern elite classes. His work so offended the rulers of Saudi Arabia that many of his books were banned and his Saudi citizenship revoked. His books included Cities of Salt, The Trench, and Variations on Night and Day. Munif died in 2004.

Reviews

"The only serious work of fiction that tries to show the effect of oil, Americans and the local oligarchy on a Gulf country."--Edward W. Said