An eye-opening read (Princess - Jean P. Sasson)

Member Name: Mizmi

Product:	Princess - Jean P. Sasson
Date:	26/06/02 (8164 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Informative, Eye Opening

Disadvantages: The diiferent culture featured in the book can make it quite confusing

It is difficult to appreciate the privileges that we have until we acknowledge the cruelty around the world. Before reading this indictment, admittedly, and I am shameful to say this ? I never really gave much thought about suffering that many many women endure from around the world.

?Princess? is a biography written by Jean P Sassoon about a Saudi Arabian Princess whose name has been changed to ?Sultana? to protect her identity. Jean P Sassoon writes as though she is the Princess, and despite the fact that the author of the book isn?t actually the character narrating the ?story?, Sassoon does a very good job of making the readers believe that it really was ?Princess Sultana? telling the story.

The biography leads us from Sultana?s childhood to adulthood, and with that we witness the horrors experienced by Saudi women through her words, and the terror develops as we realise that despite being in the ?Royal? family, even princess are mistreated ? so think about the regular female Saudi. We get a real insight of what the Princess saw, and this book does teach you a great deal.

There isn?t really a ?plot? as such for the novel, for it is a biography, so of course it just records her life. But her experiences are extraordinary for the Western readers that this book was aimed at. It is difficult o say much about the biography itself and pick out examples of her experiences ? because these should be left to be discovered by the reader. However the biography covers aspects of her childhood, her family life, her married life and all the other important periods of a woman?s life. With each case emphasising the horrific sense of Male Dominance in the Middle East.

This book doesn?t just simply tell the story of this Princess?s life ? it is also VERY informative. The back of the book also includes: Appendix A ? Laws of Saudi Arabia (very informative and actually makes the book more comprehensible); Appendix B ? Glossary of Islamic words (
very helpful); Appendix C ? Chronology (provides dates etc for the history of Saudi Arabia). There are also brief maps of Saudi Arabia and its neighbouring countries. This book is packed with information ? and it seems as though the author really wanted to have a go at making this story as comprehensible as possible for the reader, even if they are literally in a different world to this Princess, she wants them to be able to relate by providing so much information, and I think it is great how she doesn?t just shuff all that into the story, rather she separates them from the actual story and gives the readers a choice as to whether or not they actually WANT to know all this information.

I think this is a fantastic book, it is really eye opening and gives a reminder to the World that everything isn?t as pretty as you may think, for example, a Saudi Princess may appear to be happy, covered in jewellery and expensive garments, but behind the walls of the palace, no one really knows what goes on.

I knew NOTHING about the treatment of women in the Middle East before I picked up this book, but now it seems like I was there watching it all happening. This book is not a book aimed at feminism, the language used does not seem to be persuasive nor argumentative, it seems that all Sultana wants is for people to realise that there are many many women around the world suffering ? she doesn?t want any fancy female

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