The Revolutionary Novel of Women's Lives in Riyadh: Girls of Riyadh by Marilyn Booth

Review specialist: Excellent book a must read

United Kingdom on Feb 20, 2023

Archana: It is simple, honest and genuine. Does a wonderful job of giving a peek into the lives of everyday women which might as well be you despite where you live and who you are.

India on Oct 29, 2017

Guido Schellino: Rivela la condizione femminile nel mondo arabo. Imprevedibile e simpatico. Ė un po' il "Sex & the city" del mondo Arabo. Certo che le distanze con la nostra realtá restano enormi

Italy on Dec 16, 2016

Sarah Chan: Very entertaining and let me know more about the lives of girls in the Middle East. They have been mysterious to me.

Canada on Sep 16, 2014

Ellen Young: Girls of Riyadh
By:
Rajaa Alsanea

A book I couldn’t help but continuously read until every last word had been enjoyed. The people, the stories, the new understanding that comes from a new book is delightful throughout, ‘Girls of Riyadh.’
Set in both Saudi Arabia and the United States, at present day, so many intriguing and circling stories which just begin to touch the surface of what life may be like for a non-native English speaker, in America and the girls who grow up in Saudi Arabia.
With a soap opera air and young adult flair, Rajaa Alsanae keeps you interested and once you become comfortable in one story, she brings your attention back again with another drama. I had not heard of her e-mails and the controversy surrounding the gossip of Riyadh, but I am so glad I opened this book to find out. I am a big fan of journal keeping and journal reading. This book opened each chapter with what seemed like a confessional and I quite enjoyed that.
I have also found a new fondness for the poetry of Nizar Qabbani. Worthy of several mentions and footnotes, I grew to enjoy the author’s references sometimes more than the drama of Riyadh.
With this book...

United States on Feb 01, 2014

Zaara Veer: Schönes Buch, dass für Frauen aus dem arabischen Raum sicher noch viel mehr ist als das. Es hat in Saudi Arabien für sehr viel Aufruhr gesorgt und wurde unter der Hand bereits lange gelesen und verkauft, bis die Veröffentlichung endlich zugelassen wurde. Dieses Buch ist somit sicher ein nicht zu unterschätzender Beitrag zur Modernisierung in diesem so abgeschottetem Land. In einem Interview habe ich gelesen, dass ein Vater nach der Lektüre dieses Buch's seine geschiedene Tochter mit ganz anderen Augen betrachtet, wahrgenommen hat. Es setzt also etwas in Bewegung. Für mich als Frau aus dem "Westen" bedeutet diese Buch einen spannenden Blick über den Tellerrand, es gibt Einblicke in eine mir unbekannte Welt der jungen Frau in Saudi Arabien - und zwar geschrieben von einer von ihnen. Mir gefällt an dem Buch besonders, dass es authentisch und lebensnah geschrieben ist und ohne die (arrogante) Messlatte "westliche, freie, moderne" Welt auskommt, die zu befürchten gewesen wäre, hätte das Buch jemand aus unserem Kulturkreis geschrieben. So aber zeigt es die Ängste und Sehnsüchte vier junger Frauen - ja, und das ist manchmal lapidar, es geht (natürlich) um Liebe und Männer...

Germany on Feb 26, 2012

Sahra Badou: This is really a fun book to read. If you are not familiar with the Saudi culture, which differs tremendously from other Arab cultures, this book will give you a glimpse of it. Girls in Saudi Arabia are brought up with different principles from girls in other countries of the world. For example, virginity must be guarded at all cost, not necessary because the girl feels it is her moral and religious duty to do so, but because no man would marry her if she wasn't a virgin...at least this is the theory.

I first heard of the stories, which were transmitted through emails at the time, through friends when I used to work in Riyadh. At the time, it was the gossip of Riyadh, but I never was interested in gossip, so I paid no attention. I never chatted on the internet in the first place, except a few times on AOL with close friends, and I viewed this practice as a total waste of time. I couldn't understand the kick people got out of speaking to complete strangers whom they were unlikely to ever meet, and who were probably lying through their teeth. How would one really know whether the person online is male or female, or a hermaphrodite for that matter? Is the person lying about...

United States on Aug 19, 2007

J. Burgess: 'Girls of Riyadh' tells a story about a group of four university friends as they try to understand what happiness is about and how it's found. The girls are not 'typical Saudis': they're from upper middle class families (each with its own history) and of varied backgrounds. They all suffer from the curse of 'dreaming', dreaming about love, about romance, about professional success. In their daily, rather trivial lives concerned with make up, hair style, dress, they can be off-putting. They are, nonetheless, very real, trapped in a society that spreads quicksand to thwart the least deviation from 'the way things are done'.

The book is not the best example of Arabic literature, perhaps, but it is a very readable story about the mine field that young Saudis--men as well as women--must negotiate if they are to be considered part of Saudi society. None is a particular hell-raiser; all want to conform and be accepted. But life has a way of making dreams come not-quite-true, as in all cultures.

If you're looking for titillating sex scenes, don't bother looking in this book. While sex--both hetero- an homosexual--makes an appearance, it is as chaste as in a Jane Austen...

United States on Jul 29, 2007