Think of a Saudi Arabian Princess and what do you see? A woman glittering with jewels, living a life of unbelievable luxury. But in reality she lives in a gild4ed cage. She has no freedom, no vote, no control of her own life, no value but as a bearer of sons. Hidden behind the veil, she is a prisoner, her jailers her father, her husband, her sons."Sultana" is a member of the Saudi Royal family, closely related to the King. as she tells of her life, from her turbulent childhood to her arranged marriage - she lifts the veil and reveals a history of appalling oppression and shocking human rights violations such as forced marriages, sex slavery and summary executions.
Princess is a testimony to a woman of indomitable spirit and great courage. By speaking out, "sultana" risks bringing the wrath of the Saudi establishment upon her head and upon the heads of her children. For this reason, she has told her story anonymously.
This kind of book has become a genre of sorts. Expose style narratives about women in Eastern countries, oppressed beyond Western belief. As a genre, it is compelling reading. Each book I read, makes me want to read more of the same. Unfortunately for this story, while it is a great read, it feels dated already, which means it feels a little irrelevant. Is the situation Sultana describes in her country exactly the same now? I don't know, but this book was written and published in 1992, and I've since discovered this is the beginning of a series of 3 about Sultana. Perhaps the two follow ups will feel more relevant to the world today.
4 kindred spirits ~ This bugs them too!:
I read thi back when it was new, and have also read the sequels. Sadly they don't improve and actually become less confronting as her family did discover (after the release of her first book) that she'd had the story published.
It was a great story but I don't think you'll get the satisfaction you want from the sequels.
Yes I'm so glad I can discuss this with someone else who's read it.
I've been thinking about it since I wrote this post, and I think the reason I feel a bit bereft after reading it, is that (without giving too much away for any potential readers) there's no resolution of her life.
In Shame (http://privateramblings.blogspot.com/2007/02/shame-jasvinder-sanghera.html) she goes on to start a women's shelter, and DOES something about it. In Infidel
http://privateramblings.blogspot.com/2007/08/infidel-ayaan-hirsi-ali.html
She goes into politics, she is spurred to action to better the lives of Islamic women.
K, (if you can be bothered,) can you send me an email with what happens in the sequels? (email add at bottom of page)
Oh gosh, I'm not sure I can remember - it was a long time ago and I just recall being disappointed.
I'll see if I can jog my memory.
I read Infidel too but it just didn't grab me that much.
Ahh but of course, no matter.
Really (Infidel)?? I thought it was fantastic, on my top reads for sure.
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