Hakim, a Pakistani taxi driver whizzing through the streets. Patrick, a Ugandan security guard with aspirations of becoming a writer. Farida, a Moroccan beautician hoping for a fresh start. Saeed, a respected Emirati journalist just back from London.
Taking place across the last few days of Ramadan, Minutes from the Miracle City is a unique retelling of the virtuoso project that is Dubai.
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[Hakim was like a ball of tickled childhood, as he waited for his mandarin-yellow sedan to rush over the bump in the road, a small blemish which had probably resulted from the pounding, garish heat]***
(Fairlight Books, 11 July 2019, 144 pages, ebook, copy from @FairlightBooks via # NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed)
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I found this a pleasure to read. The title refers to Dubai, a city of wealth and impressive architecture that has grown up out of the desert. To Westerns like myself you get the impression Dubai is a place where only material things matter. This novella is like a love song for Dubai. The different characters, each offering a different POV aim to show the city is far more than a place of wealth and excess. The chapters alternate between different POV'S. This took a couple of chapters to get used to. This could have been handled better in a novella. Dubai is really the central character here. I would have liked this to have been longer to really get to know the characters.
