Gold Dust

This was not one of my most liked books. Truthfully, it weirded me out. The only thing that made me semi-understand why he loved his camel so much was the typical man + dog relationship. I am a dog lover my self and can understand the bond people may create with an animal, however putting my dog before my family would never happen. I understand things are different on that side of the world but it seemed like the camel meant a lot more than just a camel. To me it seemed that the camel was more of a symbol than a real object. It seemed that the camel was this other self of Ukkayad. It seemed he was vicariously living through the camel at times.
I did enjoy how they portrayed the desert throughout the whole novel. It really gave me a good sense of what walking through a hot, dry desert would be like. However, that is all I really got from this book. I don't believe everyone in the Middle East treats their camel like this or even has a camel. I think the book semi falls into the stereotype of the typical middle eastern man. Like the only thing he has is his camel...not true! There are many cars in the Middle East and the number is growing everyday. I even found a website that is called Middle East Cars and is all about their cars and their dealerships. In the end I just thought that this story just created more stereotype for the middle east. like all they have are their camels and nothing else so they revolve their lives around them. The book ended interestingly however.