If you read only one book this year, this should be the one
Luigi Falconi knows how to take his reader on a magic carpet ride. The Duke of Dubai opens with fast-paced action–and never stops. This first-person story, based upon the author’s experiences as an educator-turned-oilman in the early days of Dubai’s history, mixes fact with fiction to keep us entertained and amazed. It is rare that I laugh out loud while reading, but this is one book that gave me more than one belly laugh–and that kept me up well past my bedtime.
The narrator Luigi is thrust into a culture completely different from his middle-class American upbringing. Dubai, in the early 70s, was mostly desert, not yet developed into the dynamic metropolis it is today. We enjoy spending time with Luigi as he learns his way around this exotic world and as he cements friendships with The Duke–an eccentric oilman–and a host of other unique individuals.
Now, while this book has a number of breath-holding adventures and humorous situations, it also has something that many adventures stories lack: fine writing and a main character who is multi-dimensional and who grows from a naive young man into a money-hungry oilman into a mature man with a unique perspective on the world. Luigi worries he is losing his soul in his quest for wealth–but his basic humanity always comes through.
The author knows how to craft words to say exactly what he wants to say. This is one of those rare books that entertains us on multiple levels and that when we finish, we feel we are a better and more knowledgeable person for having read it.
The narrator Luigi is thrust into a culture completely different from his middle-class American upbringing. Dubai, in the early 70s, was mostly desert, not yet developed into the dynamic metropolis it is today. We enjoy spending time with Luigi as he learns his way around this exotic world and as he cements friendships with The Duke–an eccentric oilman–and a host of other unique individuals.
Now, while this book has a number of breath-holding adventures and humorous situations, it also has something that many adventures stories lack: fine writing and a main character who is multi-dimensional and who grows from a naive young man into a money-hungry oilman into a mature man with a unique perspective on the world. Luigi worries he is losing his soul in his quest for wealth–but his basic humanity always comes through.
The author knows how to craft words to say exactly what he wants to say. This is one of those rare books that entertains us on multiple levels and that when we finish, we feel we are a better and more knowledgeable person for having read it.