I loved this book and would highly recommend it! I'm not sure how it got on my radar, but if you recommended it many thanks. This is also a new to me author, but I"m looking forward to reading something else by her.
What I liked about the book - story line and writing. Every time I picked up the book I felt like I was in Saudi Arabia. The characters were sympathetic- even the ones you didn't like, you simply didn't like them, you didn't hate them.

The story line is fairly simple, the setting is the late 1960s/early 70s, a young couple from OK meet up, get pregnant leave their small town for the TX oil industry and soon find themselves in Saudi Arabia as part of Aramco's expat community living and working there. But "there" is behind the walls in the American compound. So gender roles and class play a part in the story...the multiple layers in the narrative from the various characters adds such a richness to the story.

The author did extensive research and you can tell- it enhances the narrative. Equally compelling was the notes section at the end of the version of the book I had. The story idea was based on the expat experience of someone she knew during that time period, Aramco is a real company.

I'm looking forward to reading another book by Barnes and welcome any recommendations.