If the Sun Doesn't Kill You, the Washing Machine Will: Or My Real Life in the Middle East.

Peter Wood,Ken Pyne

ISBN 10: 1856261115 / ISBN 13: 9781856261111

Published by Kyle Cathie Ltd., London, 1993

About this Item

If the Sun Doesn't Kill You, the Washing Machine Will: Or My Real Life in the Middle East. This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. .

Seller Inventory # 7719-9781856261111

Bibliographic Details

• Title: If the Sun Doesn't Kill You, the Washing Machine Will: Or My Real Life in the Middle East.
• Publisher: Kyle Cathie Ltd., London
• Publication Date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1856261115
• ISBN 13: 9781856261111
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

Transported by his employer to work in the Middle East, Peter Wood became enmeshed in the bizarre and hilarious lifestyle of the desert state of Qatar. In this book he reveals how the most mundane operations of daily life can prove bafflingly complex as he describes the driving test that involves reversing round an obstacle course for 30 minutes, the elaborate weather forecasts in a country where the weather is the same for 364 days a year, and the country's first takeaway pizza restaurant, which is impossible to locate.

Reviews

Dry seems to be the operative word in Wood's humorous recollections of his time in Qatar. Assigned there in 1991 to coordinate transportation of goods needed to complete the North Field Gas Project, this echt -Englishman describes driving, eating, the Gulf Times , religious observances, weather (or lack thereof) and goats with a wit as arid as the desert realm. Wood's rhetorical skills are unquestionably fine, although some American readers may begin to suspect that they don't speak English at all but some trans-Atlantic pidgen. They may also find Wood's commentary on the transitory life in Qatar a tad xenophobic. The tone of the first two-thirds of the book gets its laughs at the expense of Qatar's media, small-business owners and quaint customs. The last third is put forth as a penance for these insular, surreal anecdotes, in the hopes that the reader will understand that it was all in good fun. Wood truly believes he is a London Yankee in the Emir's court, until he realizes that the strength of Qatar is its resolute people. Illustrations.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.