THE RED SEA

A debut literary novel focuses on expatriates in the 1970s Middle East.

Spahn introduces readers to Air Force officer Henri Bonz. In 1971, Bonz is stationed in Key West, Florida for the last months of his military career. Bonz relocates to Vermont, where he is left suffering through a lonely winter. Yet an old acquaintance alerts him to a sign of hope. There are job opportunities for ex-Air Force members in Saudi Arabia. The gig entails working on radar systems to bring the Saudis up to speed with the modern world. This will land Bonz in a desolate place called Jebel Sahan or “Saucer Mountain.” Jebel Sahan is full of American and British ex-military men. It is not exactly a world of fun. Not only is the area isolated, the Saudi kingdom bans movies and alcohol, among other pleasures. The men here “lived six-month gulps of their lives as if they were holding their breaths. Immersed in loneliness, isolated from family and culture.” Then there is the lingering problem that there are effectively no single women. The men must make do with a harsh local liquor called Siddiqui and the regular references to masturbation. Although it takes the hero some stumbling to wind up in this foreign land, it is a memorable place. From the hissing of UHF radios to a Nubian vulture named Luther, who “maintained a disheveled dignity,” readers are immersed in an almost unimaginable world. Additional mentions of real events, like the siege of the Grand Mosque in 1979 and the rise of the Osama bin Laden family, add needed context. Unfortunately, many of the characters are not as distinct as the place they inhabit. For instance, the Brits (who come across as largely interchangeable) tend to speak in exaggerated ways, like “‘You fukin’ sot,’ I says to him.” Still, readers are always in for surprises in this haunting, desolate location.

An unforgettably harsh environment makes for a gripping, curious, and bawdy test of humanity.