The characters were completely unique and utterly captivating. Many had challenging stories to read but it was so well written. With all the small chapters of the different characters, it made the compelling stories easy to fly through!

As American women whose rights are being attacked, we sometimes forget how many women in the Gulf region are being abused, threatened, repressed and denied ownership of their bodies. Mo Ogrodnik does an excellent job of describing the lives of five women in the region, their travails and their hopes in trying to move forward and escape the trauma and injustice in their lives.

Flora, a Filipina, trying to escape an unfathomable experience, signs a two-year contract to work in Saudi Arabia as a maid and nanny, hoping to provide for a daughter she left behind. She finds herself working for Dounia, pregnant and living with her husband and mother -in-law. Dounia becomes paranoid and Flora becomes the object of her wrath. Zeniah, a Syrian, was forced, by her parents, into a marriage with an ISIS jihadist. The parents then reviled her. Justine, an American museum curator, observes the double standard but believes it has nothing to do with her. The final main character is Eskedare, a young teen, who has her first period. She flees Ethiopia to escape an arranged marriage and we go on her journey with her.

The plight of these women lay waste to any conceived notions of respect or positive treatment of them. Even living in the lap of luxury does not protect them. It is a battle for survival and finding ways to circumvent the power of the male, the government, and the religious dogma inbred in the culture. The writing never shirks from delivering a powerful depiction of life, emotions and heart of these women. It is okay to cry!

Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this ARC.

Gulf follows the lives of five women from different cultures and classes whose lives converge in Saudi Arabia.

I don’t know if I particularly liked this, but perhaps that’s the point? Looking into the eye of the female condition and treatment of women around the world isn’t a particularly good feeling.
But at the same, when almost every character was so unlikable I found myself wanting to put the book down. At one point I wondered if the moral question being posed was asking if women become monsters when suffocated under the patriarchy, or if at the end of it, women are inherently bad and that’s why we have the patriarchy to have someone to watch over them. It felt bleak, and I don’t know if that was the effect that I was supposed to walk away with.

I will say, I went into this not knowing anything about the kafala system, and this was a great introduction to the injustice of the treatment of the women in these positions.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for access to this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

So powerful and surprisingly dark. An unexpected deep and intimate dive into the lives of several women around the Arabian Gulf. Though the circumstances of their lives were all very different than my own, the author did an amazing job making them all relatable as women and humans. This did get much darker than I was expecting but that is the honest look into another side of the world and life.
Each character's chapter was written so differently: Eskedare very poetic and beautifully tragic, Justine raw and a difficult look at her role in her privilege/the rest of the world, Flora the struggle between providing and giving up freedom...

A story about women rebelling about the cards dealt to them. These stories are not for the faint of heart, but you will not be able to look away.

We follow Justine, Eskedare, Flora, Zeinah and Dounia, who are very different from each other, but their lives get intertwined as they navigate life in the Gulf.

If you love stories about the power of the human spirit, and especially the resilience of women, read this!

I loved this book. I love the womanhood, the things women have to deal with and struggle with, the women's intuition, and the power of sisterhood. I think it was very well written and it kept me entertained and engaged.

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

This book is very heavy and there should be trigger warnings for those to need them. this book was extremely well written and told from 5 different female perspectives. The stories are woven together beautifully. Not my usual read but a good book none the less.

Truly beautiful literary writing. I loved each unique woman’s perspective and did not have trouble with the large cast of characters- they are all different enough.. Triggers abound so read the synopsis carefully.

Stunning! This is an emotional and unnerving read and I was absolutely riveted. I loved the writing style and structure—short chapters that alternated between the five main characters. All of the women struggled with inner and outer turmoil. I couldn’t believe how some of the characters behaved but, at the same time, they felt too real and I could absolutely see their actions playing out in real life. Highly recommended!

Thank you very much to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Women being women (powerful and strong dispite the circumstances that stand in their way). This story follows 5 women with different origins and backgrounds that lead them to the Arabian gulf. Each of their stories are so different yet so impactful. Helped me be better educated on the limitation of choices in that region and the reality of how far women will go for hopes of a better future and to protect the ones they love from what is happening around them. Though you can try to shield people from the the harsh truth of reality, turning a blind eye to what’s going on in the world around you does not change the fact that it is still happening and affecting people around the world this very second. This story touched me and is very different from my normal read. Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for my very first earc I loved.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this book, not because I wasn't enjoying it. The writing was spectacular and the characters were dynamic. The problem was I didn't do enough research on the trigger warning contained in the novel and had to stop reading.

With Gulf, Mo Ogrodnik crafts a novel of interwoven fates, hidden power struggles, and the quiet strength of women navigating oppressive systems. Across continents and cultures, five women find themselves bound by circumstance, expectation, and a longing for escape—whether from family, tradition, or the roles imposed upon them.

Dounia, a young Saudi mother, feels isolated and scrutinized within her wealthy husband's family after the birth of her child. Flora, a Filipina domestic worker, seeks a better life in Saudi Arabia, carrying the weight of past grief and a tragedy that claimed her infant’s life. Zeinah, a Syrian woman forced into marriage with a jihadist, is drawn into the ranks of the female morality police, upholding the very restrictions that once confined her. Justine, an American art curator, believes herself to be an outsider to the injustices around her—until she meets Eskedare, an Ethiopian teenager who refuses to accept the future arranged for her.

Though vastly different, their lives intersect in unexpected and profound ways, exposing the social, political, and economic forces that shape—and often limit—women’s choices. Ogrodnik’s writing is both intimate and unflinching, never shying away from the realities of power, privilege, and survival in a region where autonomy is often a privilege, not a right.

Ogrodnik, a filmmaker and writer known for her work exploring women’s experiences in repressive social structures, brings a sharp, cinematic quality to the novel. The storytelling is immersive, the emotions raw, and the characters linger long after the final page.

A novel about alienation, survival, and resilience, Gulf does not offer easy resolutions—but it does offer voices that demand to be heard. #simonschuster #gulf #moogrodnik

This was a hard story to read, there are 5 different, distinct characters and they all have something in common.
Their hope for a better future and life that’s purposeful and meaningful.
The struggle that each of them face is not easy
Or pleasant to read about.
The Author puts the perspective of each of these characters on a journey and within the journey they all make choices and each decision has consequences.
Not a light hearted story but it gets the reader something to think about.
3 sad stars