The Witch Doctor of Umm Suqeim

The lives of locals and expatriates intertwine and collide as they strive to negotiate the shifting mores of the ever-changing emirate of Dubai in this debut short story collection. In one story, a young male journalist puts himself at risk when he dares to defy local custom by giving an Emirati female colleague a ride back to the office, to the envy of a bitter office rival. Another tale portrays a lavish mansion party in full swing that is suddenly interrupted by a muezzin’s call to prayer. Still another story follows a Pakistani taxi driver who fails to wake a female passenger from her drunken stupor and takes her to his favorite café across the city so as not to miss an important cricket match. These tales of hardship and the high life, paranoia and alienation, and cruelty and love feature an array of characters that span Dubai’s wide social spectrum and will appeal to anyone with a curiosity about what it is like to be an expat in the Arab world’s most futuristic, vibrant, and affluent city.

Craig Hawes grew up in Briton Ferry, South Wales. He has worked as a journalist in London and Dubai, where he currently lives. He was shortlisted for the Bristol Short Story Prize 2009, Runner-up in the Rhys Davies Prize 2010, and placed third in the Yeovil Short Story Prize, 2010. Hawe’s short stories have appeared in several publications and prize-winning anthologies including Blue Tattoo and the Bristol Prize Anthology in 2009 and 10. He has also had stories and an Afternoon play broadcast on BBC Radio 4. As a journalist Hawes has had work published by the London Evening Standard, Sunday Times Style, Big Issue, Time Out Dubai, and many others.