Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia by Jean Sasson

Jan 10, 2012 Dan Schwent rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: homework-from-the-ladies

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Jan 24, 2013 Shyam rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: middle-east

First of all, I do not believe that this work is a genuine autobiography of a Saudi princess. It just doesn't make sense to not reveal the name for 'protecting the identity of the author' after giving such a detailed life story and other intimate details about her family structure and other stuff. It is naive to assume that she would not be caught and put to death. I guess, maybe it could be the story of the maid of the Princess or something. Nevertheless I found it to be a highly compelling rea...more

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Nov 25, 2007 Renee rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone interested in role of women in Islam

Shelves: bookclub, biography, islam

Princess, by Jean Sasson is the life story of a Saudi princess as told to an American journalist. It details the dysfunction, hypocrisy and imposed inertia of the royal family in general, and depravity of some members in particular. Most of all, it describes the gilded but treacherous cage in which royal women are forced to live, and the vulnerability of all Saudi & foreign worker women in the Kingdom.

On a personal note, if I thought the Saudis were a bunch of troglodyte degenerates before,...more

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Sep 24, 2012 Tempo de Ler rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

«Quando o normal é proibido, as pessoas caem no anormal.»
E assim é.
Pessoalmente, nada tenho contra qualquer religião nem
tampouco me penso no direito de ter - mas condeno-as , a todas, quando colocam
em perigo ou precarizam tantas vidas.
Condeno-as quando as vejo incutir tanta maldade e perversão num menino de nove anos (Ali - irmão de Sultana).
E ficam-me sempre estas questões: se não conseguem ouvir o riso de uma mulher sem se sentirem sexualmente excitados, como é o caso dos homens afegãos, ou o...more

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Oct 09, 2012 Nanny rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, novel

Bagaimanakah rasanya menjadi seorang putri di lingkungan kerajaan yang hartanya melimpah ?, bagaimanakah rasanya menjadi salah seorang anak perempuan keluarga kerajaan yang salah satu kotanya menjadi tujuan untuk beribadah ? senang, bangga, bahagia atau...merana ..? ikutilah ceritanya karena Sultana sang putri menceritakan kisah hidupnya kepada Jean sahabatnya, penulis buku ini.

Orangtua Sultana adalah anggota kerabat kerajaan Saudi Arabia, sebuah negeri yang dikendalikan oleh kaum laki-laki kare...more Bagaimanakah rasanya menjadi seorang putri di lingkungan kerajaan yang hartanya melimpah ?, bagaimanakah rasanya menjadi salah seorang anak perempuan keluarga kerajaan yang salah satu kotanya menjadi tujuan untuk beribadah ? senang, bangga, bahagia atau...merana ..? ikutilah ceritanya karena Sultana sang putri menceritakan kisah hidupnya kepada Jean sahabatnya, penulis buku ini.

Orangtua Sultana adalah anggota kerabat kerajaan Saudi Arabia, sebuah negeri yang dikendalikan oleh kaum laki-laki karena di negeri ini perempuan tidak mempunyai suara sama sekali. Putri Sultana ( ini adalah nama samaran karena takut membahayakan diri dan keluarganya) adalah anak paling kecil dari 10 bersaudara dari istri pertama ayahnya, ibunya adalah istri pertama dari empat orang istri ayahnya. Saking kayanya sang suami membuatkan 4 istrinya masing-masing 4 istana, yang berada di : Riyadh, Jeddah, Thaif dan Spanyol, semua istana itu persis sama bentuk, warna maupun isinya, semua sesuai selera sang suami.
Walaupun dilimpahi harta, seumur hidupnya Sultana mendambakan kasih sayang sang ayah yang tak kunjung didapatkan hanya karena dia seorang perempuan. Sejak kecil Sultana merasakan perbedaan perlakuan ayahnya kepada diri dan sesama saudara perempuan dengan Faruq kakak laki-laki yang diperlakukan sangat berlebihan oleh seluruh keluarga terutama oleh ayahnya. Sultana tumbuh menjadi anak berjiwa pemberontak dan selalu ingin memperdaya Faruq yang sering bertindak sewenang-wenang.

Perlakuan kepada anak-laki-laki sangat istimewa apalagi mereka adalah keluarga kaya raya, apapun yang diinginkan pasti akan diperoleh hal ini mengakibatkan si anak besar kepala , selalu merasa benar dan sejak dini sudah merasa lebih tinggi derajatnya dibanding perempuan. Ketika Faruq berusia 14 tahun dia sudah dibelikan 4 ( empat) mobil porche oleh ayahnya. Segalanya dapat diperolah dengan mudah.Banyak diantara pemuda-pemuda negri ini berpenampilan alim tapi ternyata mereka adalah kolektor buku-buku ‘dewasa’, dan ketika bepergian ke luar negri ( hampir setiap saat dengan mudah mereka bisa pergi ke luar negri ) mereka akan berpesta alkohol dan sex , yang lebih ‘ajaib’ tempat/ nama perempuan yang bisa ‘dipakai’ itu direkomendasikan oleh ....a..y..a..h..nya… ! Dan walaupun para lelaki ini sudah sering 'bermain' dengan perempuan-perempuan yang sering mereka maki dan cemooh sebagai pelacur tapi untuk istri haruslah seorang perawan tulen.

Sebaliknya anak-anak perempuan harus selalu mengalah kepada saudara laki-laki bahkan yang menyakitkan sang ayah pun hampir tak pernah menyapa mereka. Ketika masih anak-anak mereka masih leluasa bermain walaupun jika ada mainan atau barang yang diminati oleh saudata lelaki mereka harus mengalah. Ketika mulai masa haid pertama mulailah diterapkan berbagai aturan yang ketat, cara berpakainpun berubah yakni harus mengenakan abaya (baju longgar hitam yang menutupi seluruh tubuh ) dan muka ditutupi cadar,untuk bersekolah dipersulit, tidak boleh bepergian sendiri apalagi menyetir mobil sendiri..hukumnya haram. Sejak saat itu pula mereka dipersiapkan untuk segera menikah, tinggal menunggu perintah ayahnya yang segera mencarikan jodoh diantara para kerabat, terkadang dengan pertimbangan keuntungan bisnis, tidak jarang gadis yang masih belasan tahun ini mendapat jodoh sebagai istri kesekian dari seorang laki-laki yang sudah seumur ayah atau kakeknya. Begitupun para istri tidak bisa bebas bergerak, sumber berita hanya diperoleh dari para suami. Beruntung bagi keluarga kaya seperti mereka yang dikelilingi oleh para pembantu maka tidak ada pekerjaan atau kegiatan yang bisa mereka lakukan selain berbelanja, berpesta dengan baju-baju dan perhiasan mewah ( dipakai dalam abaya dan abaya itu dilepas ketika sesama perempuan berkumpul ) dan tentunya bergosip tiada henti.

Bagi perempuan yang dilimpahi kekayaan tapi tanpa aktifitas maka rasa kejenuhan sudah menjadi persoalan nasional.

Sultana menikah sekitar thn 1973 ketika dia berumur 16 tahun dengan Karim salah seorang kerabat kerajaan yang kaya. Nasib Sultana lebih beruntung dibandingkan dengan perempuan-perempuan disekitar nya , bahkan dibandingkan dengan Sara kakak perempuan terdekatnya yang menikah sebagai istri kesekian dengan seorang yang pantas jadi kakeknya dan berakhir dengan perceraian karena mengalami KDRT. Berbeda dengan Karim yang umurnya tidak terpaut jauh dengan Sultana dan sepertinya kelakuan dan jalan pikirannya berbeda dengan kebanyakan laki-laki.
Meskipun harus mengahadapi kesulitan dari lingkungannya kehidupan perkawinan Sultana dan Karim yang dikarunia 3 anak pada awalnya cukup berbahagia. Namun akhirnya apa yang dialami Sultana tidak jauh berbeda dengan perempuan lain, ketika menderita kanker pada usia 24 thn dan demi keselamatannya dia tidak dapat melahirkkan lagi , suaminya berniat kawin lagi dengan alasan ingin menambah keturunan. Sultanapun memberontak dengan caranya ..walaupun tidak jadi dimadu tapi semua sudah berubah , ‘rasa’ yang dulu ada sudah berbeda. Kemudian penderitaan bertambah ketika dia divonis menderita penyakit kelamin , penyebabnya adalah ..suaminya sendiri yang ternyata sering ‘bermain’ dengan wanita lain…..Pada akhirnya wanita jualah yang menanggung derita.

Sungguh miris membaca penderitaan kaum wanita yang berada di negara/wilayah yang didominasi oleh kekuasaan laki-laki apalagi bila kekuasaan tersebut mengatasnamakan adat dan agama yang sangat sulit duraikan karena pada kenyataannya sebagian besar dari mereka baik pelaku maupun korban , beranggapan bahwa memang begitulah seharusnya..,

Merdekaaa...eh..:(
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Nov 15, 2010 Fabian Davy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As a person who had spent some time in Saudi Arabia as an expatriate, I can say that many elements of this book had indeed lived up to match some of my experiences there. However, it should be noted with caution that this is a tale that spans many years: back from the time when Saudi Arabia is slowly opening itself up to embrace the world and modernization. The country that I came to, live in and left a few years back was a stark contrast to the hear-say and media portrayal of late. In fact, I w...more As a person who had spent some time in Saudi Arabia as an expatriate, I can say that many elements of this book had indeed lived up to match some of my experiences there. However, it should be noted with caution that this is a tale that spans many years: back from the time when Saudi Arabia is slowly opening itself up to embrace the world and modernization. The country that I came to, live in and left a few years back was a stark contrast to the hear-say and media portrayal of late. In fact, I was surprised of how much improved things are in a rather conservative country. Things have changed for sure.

It should be noted that this was a tale being told from the perspective of a Princess, and rewritten by the author. Sasson has been noted as a 'female-rights' author of sorts, evident on her other works that still linger on tale of abuse/manipulation/oppression of women in mostly Middle East countries (Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan...). Thus, it is hard to read this book without sensing a tinge of bias (especially me) knowing her central theme. Or, of how much the story had been rewritten to create a more shocking drama. You be the judge of the story.

Another caution: it is easy to link the injustice, cruelty and oppression depicted in the book, to Muslims and even Islam by first glance. Islam is a religion of the many people around various places in this earth. Saudi Arabia being its birth place - and that's all. Culture varies between one group of people to another, but that does not mean that the religion bear the burden of misinterpretation. As much as one expect this book to linger so much on elements of faith and religion - it actually dwells more on culture and human value. By all means, it is not to say that Sasson invoke the sentiment in this book. She exhibit great respect for the religion and said so many times through the character and by herself.

At 303 pages, the book makes a good read. The stories are short, yet engaging enough to grip you for hours. Shocking, sickening at times and sometimes just plain beautiful. Revelation after revelation, which while seems extraordinarily unbelievable, is also true.

Saudi Arabia is a beautiful country and the people are kind. This book didn't really focus much on that, and misses a lot on the good parts. Plus, this was an old tale from a royal family that may/may not be as relevant today. Much have to be learned of he life of the common people.(less)

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Oct 04, 2010 Ellen Isabella rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, true-story-or-memoir

This book reveals the story of the life in Saudi Arabia. A royal princess, Sultana, has told her story and also the stories of other women in Saudi that were treated so unfairly under the power of Saudi men. Women there are powerless, regarding to the religious beliefs and strong culture. They were abused by men, religious zealots, and law. This happened not only to the ordinary women citizens, but also to the royal families and the non-Muslim women from other countries especially those who came...more

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Jun 20, 2008 Marjanne rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the true story of a Saudi Arabian Princess. I am sure that most people can guess some of the horrors discussed in this book. Unfortunately, this wasn't really anything new to me. I am fairly familiar with Arab culture. I imagine this book would really surprise some.
This story makes me think that perhaps is it Saudi Arabian men who give Muslims a bad name/reputation (at least here in the US). I am not so quick to condemn them all because of the acts of a few. However, it is difficult to...more

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SnowyAngel First thing is first. I highly doubt the authenticity of this book. No one condemns their culture so throughly unless it is not their culture. There a...more First thing is first. I highly doubt the authenticity of this book. No one condemns their culture so throughly unless it is not their culture. There are very few descriptions that would offer some realism to the whole book. The stories seem very conveniently placed in the scheme of things. I must say real life is not like that. Everything has some meaning in the grand scheme of things but at a glance it is random. This book is more fiction than non-fiction but as I am not to know this for sure, I will give the author a benefit of the doubt(the doubt being very small).

I must say here that I believe that the you can't blame the religion. You have to blame the interpretation of men of the Quran. Perhaps some people impose their own will into it and colour it with such oratory that people are swayed to believe them. I have seen examples of this fact in my country on numerous occasions. The uneducated masses accept the words of such people and start practicing what they think is in the Quran but actually is a misinterpretation.

As far as the issue of 'Wife Beating' as you put it is concerned I think when I read the translation of the Quran I felt it was more of a last resort to save a marriage rather than an insinuation towards hitting with a rod or flogging(????) On many accounts I have read that no muslim should hit another person on the face. Somewhere is was also mentioned that no bruise should be left. That only makes me think that its purpose is not to hurt but more like a pat to get a point across. I mean torturing and humiliating a woman is condemned not encouraged. In the last sermon of the Holy Prophet he especially stated that men should be fearful in their treatment of the women for they will have to be answerable to Allah. Both men and women have rights on each other. Men and women are different in Islam but EQUAL overall. Where a husband has been given a higher pedestal (one step ahead, I read) to stand on in regards of a marriage. A mother has been given a higher pedestal in regards to parentage (3 times more!). Sons and daughters are supposed to be treated equally. I read some place that one of the things declared as a 'beautiful deed' is to have righteous daughters...

I don't think that a man's maltreatment of a woman is not a rightful claim to ask for a divorce by a woman. If a woman as much as does not like her husband she can ask for a divorce. A case is recorded where a woman came to the prophet saying that her husband was not presentable and she wanted a divorce. The prophet asked the man (or some one to make him I don't remember) literally 'clean up'. He asked the woman again if she still wanted a divorce but she said no this time for the matter was resolved. I mean the misinterpretation and miscontrution is to blame not the religion... What I don't understand is why people concentrate on the vague to make it sound awful and overlook the clear and the good (???)(less)
Aug 14, 2010 05:05pm

Marjanne SnowyAngel, I would keep in mind that this book is a memoir. Memoirs are not generally written exactly as things happened. Experiences and events ofte...more
Aug 18, 2010 04:15pm

Oct 22, 2007 Debarati rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: all

I seriously dont know if the book is fiction or non-fiction. But few months after reading the book I saw an interview of some Arabian princess on a news channel. The incidents she shared sounded so same to the book. It talks about the kind of life women lead in Saudi Arabia. It discloses some shocking facts like a young girl stoned to death and a girl child was married to a man of 50's. The life of a princess in Arab is only about gold and dimonds but when it comes to self respect and love, she...more

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Apr 11, 2010 Helynne added it

I have read several books by contemporary Muslim women from Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and Iran. Women from all of these countries have sad tales to tell about the strict laws of Islam and the cultural prejudices that restrict women's activities, personal expression and freedom, and keep them closely under the control of their fathers, husbands, or other men in their families. However, no stories were more heart-wrenching than this tale of a woman's life in Saudi Arabia. The narrator, known as S...more I have read several books by contemporary Muslim women from Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and Iran. Women from all of these countries have sad tales to tell about the strict laws of Islam and the cultural prejudices that restrict women's activities, personal expression and freedom, and keep them closely under the control of their fathers, husbands, or other men in their families. However, no stories were more heart-wrenching than this tale of a woman's life in Saudi Arabia. The narrator, known as Sultana, is actually one of the more fortunate women in her country. As a princess from the royal Arabian family, she is rich, pampered, and has numerous servants to do her bidding. Also, Sultana was lucky that her family arranged for her a marriage with a man she actually liked and grew to love, and who is kinder and more lenient than the typical Saudi spouse. Also, she was lucky enough to bear her husband a son as his first-born. (Many Saudi wives who fail to produce male heirs are summarily divorced and left destitute). Sultana even schemes successfully to prevent her husband from taking a second wife. (Sultana's sister Sara was not so fortunate. Her first husband was so brutal in a mental and sexual way that she "disgraced" the family by divorcing him and coming back home). Nevertheless, Sultana's life is so restricted and controlled by men that she cannot drive a car or go out in public without a veil covering all of her face except her eyes. Also, she is aware of horrific punishments and executions of women she knows who were daring enough to seek the least bit of sexual freedom or to defy the absolute authority and tyranny of male relatives. The stories of these punishments by solitary confinement, stoning, drowning, etc., are too awful even to discuss. Sultana's brother Ali, is one of the most disgusting, arrogant, and reprehensible male chauvinist scoundrels I have ever read about in literature or non-fiction. Perhaps the most frustrating part of this narrative is the ending chapter in which author Jean Sasson, who was telling Sultana's story as a first-person account, switches to her own voice and tells readers that the situation for women in Saudi Arabia has not improved since the 1980s, and that Sultana's teen-aged daughters wear the veil and exist under the same restrictions as women in that country have endured for centuries. "Sultana says that the saddest part of her life continues to be watching the black forms of her two young daughters, now wrapped in the black cloaks and veils that, after all the years of rebellion, still cling to a new generation of young women in Saudi Arabis. As always, primitive customs determine women's roles in Saudi society" (254). The only hope is the fact that education for women in Saudi has improved in the past 20 years, and that perhaps, as Sultana hints, there eventually will be a feminist uprising that will usher in some positive change. Meanwhile, we Western women need to read accounts such as this and prepare ourselves for whatever we can do on a global level to help our sisters who live under these deplorable conditions.(less)

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Mar 02, 2013 Anjali Williams rated it 4 of 5 stars

My mom gave me this book as a gift, a year ago, but I judged the book by its cover (and title), and didn't rush to read it. Now that I have, I am glad I did. At the start, it reads like an early 19th century feminist manifesto, which makes sense, considering how the Saudi women are stuck in such an antiquated, male-dominated society. The tragic and chilling personal stories of Sultana and her female family and friends sounds more like something out of the Dark Ages, however. It was a gripping an...more

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Mar 24, 2012 Sonia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I wasn't sure if I should give 3 or 4 stars to rate the book. I liked reading this book because it was "easy to read" and because the story kept me reading almost "all night" and thinking about it when I wasn't reading the book. I read some reviews about this book and there were some people saying that the story isn't true. I don't know if it's true or not, but, it's shocking to imagine that it's still possible that in the 21st Century there might be a lot of women that have not one of the basic...more

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Oct 11, 2010 Jeanette rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography-memoir, middle-east, nonfiction

3.5 stars
I was slightly put off by the way Princess Sultana tried to portray her life as somehow representative of what average Saudi women have to endure. The reality for most women there is so much worse. She does mention some examples of what happened to other women, but her tone is often self-pitying. "I was born free, yet today I am in chains." Give me a break! Her life of leisure was a dream compared to the lives of most Saudi women. Here's what filled her days:

"Since the servants fed the...more

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Jul 18, 2008 Cheri added it

As a woman who has traveled to Saudi Arabia and having worn the veil; I have to admit, when I read the stories of these women Jean Sasson writes of, I now feel--looking back on wearing the veil--that I was somehow an imposter (I can't explain it any better than that) when comparing my life with the lives of these women. My wearing the veil was only compulsory when I went outside the confines of the base on which I was stationed; to these women it is a way of life. I couldn't help but feel that n...more

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May 02, 2008 Ashlee Suddarth rated it 5 of 5 stars

The book Princess is about a young woman living the life of the royal family. The book tells the real life stories of this one girl and her family and friends. It blew me away when reading these stories. The women are looked at as tools used to reproduce sons and are they are only there for the sexual pleasures of the men.
The young lady in this story goes by the name, Princess Sultana. She is ahead of her time; because of this she had to learn to keep her thoughts to herself. It was shocking t...more

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Feb 21, 2008 Roos rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: girls and everyone

Shelves: girlthings, truestory

Kisah Putri Sultana dari masa kecil hingga dia memberanikan diri untuk membuka dirinya terhadap penulis.

Sebelum sampai pada kata penutup, aku merasa Kisah Sultana ini tidak begitu tragis, justru yang tragis itu adalah wanita-wanita yang hidup disekeliling Putri Sultana ini termasuk kakaknya, Sara. Kenapa tidak tragis karena Putri Sultana ini dari kecil sudah hebat, melawan dominasi lelaki ( Ayah dan kakak laki-lakinya, bahkan suaminya ) meski pemberontakannya cenderung kekanakan tapi berani dan...more Kisah Putri Sultana dari masa kecil hingga dia memberanikan diri untuk membuka dirinya terhadap penulis.

Sebelum sampai pada kata penutup, aku merasa Kisah Sultana ini tidak begitu tragis, justru yang tragis itu adalah wanita-wanita yang hidup disekeliling Putri Sultana ini termasuk kakaknya, Sara. Kenapa tidak tragis karena Putri Sultana ini dari kecil sudah hebat, melawan dominasi lelaki ( Ayah dan kakak laki-lakinya, bahkan suaminya ) meski pemberontakannya cenderung kekanakan tapi berani dan tidak mau menerima kekalahan, bagaimana dia mengerjai kakaknya, Faruq, dan melarikan diri bersama anak-anaknya ke Eropa saat suaminya minta ijin untuk menikah lagi. Sedangkan kehidupan wanita-wanita disekitarnya, memang benar-benar tragis mengingat hukum Di Arab memang sangat Laki-laki. Wanita dianggap cuma sebagai pelampias nafsu, bahkan gadis kecil yang masih dibawah umur. Teman dekat Putri Sultana sendiri dihukum oleh keluarga,karena diperkosa oleh pemuda-pemuda yang tidak mau mengakui perbuatannya.

Tapi setelah sampai di kata penutup, ternyata memang tragis karena dia terkena penyakit kelamin, dan berakhir dengan pengakuan suaminya yang suka berpesta perempuan yang didatangkan dari Eropa secara berkala dengan pangeran-pangeran Arab yang lain.

Dari buku ini, memang tidak diceritakan mengenai TKI dari Indonesia tapi malah yang dari Filipina dan dari sini cukup dimaklumi jika setiap kali sikap Pemerintah Indonesia sangat lamban dalam menyikapi permasalahan warga negaranya yang bekerja di Arab Saudi terutama wanita, mungkin sama dengan Pemerintah Filipina yang lebih merelakan para tenaga kerja wanitanya jadi budak seks demi pemasukan negara, daripada menuntut perlakuan baik dari Pemerintah Arab. Dan para lelaki Arab yang memandang wanita yang bukan dari Arab adalah PELACUR yang menurutku tidak sepantasnya, bahkan mereka mempunyai kebiasaan belanja seks dengan setahun 3-5x pergi ke Thailand atau Filipina atau negara lain demi untuk kepuasan seks mereka.

Dan lebih parahnya, mereka pergi berame-rame dengan Ayah dan saudara-saudara laki-laki mereka, kadang dengan Ibu dan istri-istrinya, tapi para wanita ini lebih memilih untuk sibuk berbelanja daripada mengurusi kegiatan suami-suami mereka. Dan yang paling parah, kadang seorang Ibu memaksa wanita yang bukan Arab untuk melayani anak laki-laki atau suaminya.

Iiiiihhhhh....kenapa seram begini yah??????
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Jun 20, 2007 Yuanita rated it 5 of 5 stars

Untill now, I still have a huge doubt wheter the story is real or just a smart fiction.Sasson claimed her writing to be an original story of a real Arab's Princess who underwent a very tough life in Arabs noble realm.This book tells that becoming a princess of Arabs was not as happy as it might seem.Sasson wrote down every adversity that Princess Sultana (and other Arabs women) had to go through in her stages of life with a full-of-detail way.The story took a setting against a backdrop of Arab w...more

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Jan 10, 2009 Sue rated it 5 of 5 stars

Remember Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale? This is the real handmaid's tale. First published in 1992, it has been reissued in paperback. While some of the facts cited about women's lives in Saudi Arabia may have changed since then, most of the story is still, unfortunately, true. Not an easy book to read, but one that gives voice to a whole group of women you never hear from.

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Jul 08, 2012 Dina rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book and the entire series is AWESOME. I re-read it this week, been many years since I first read it. Sultana's honesty is touching and the insights in the book are enlightning (sp). Jean Sasson writes in a way that keeps you invested and the book is easy to follow. I recommend this to all my women friends (and men). Our issues in western society may not be as obvious, but you will still find moments where you do truly understand and MANY where you could never comprehend. I think what is vi...more

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Feb 27, 2013 Nina rated it 4 of 5 stars

A great first-hand account of life as a woman in Saudi Arabia. Even though the narrator, an anonymous member of the royal family, is afforded a little more freedom (and considerably more luxury) than the middle- and lower-class women, her life is still not her own. Completely under her husband's rule, at any moment she could be left penniless and homeless, with no hope of seeing her children again. She also tells of women she knew personally who were murdered or imprisoned by their families for...more

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May 15, 2012 Donna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography, political, saudi-arabia, read-in-spain

This novel certainly doesn't conjure up the image one has of a 'princess' when growing up. This is no happily-ever-after fairy tale.

The inequality of men and women depicted in this book comes across as horrific to a woman who has been raised in a privileged 'Western' society. All I could think of when I was reading it was: if this is what happens to a member of the royal family, then what happens to a poor, working-class girl in the same society - it's horrendous to imagine!

This is a book that g...more

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Feb 27, 2013 Mal rated it 3 of 5 stars

I thank goodness I am only a princess in my world and not Saudi Arabia. The oppression middle eastern women face is appalling. I am so thankful I am an American woman with choices and rights, above all treated with dignity and respect. Reading a story such as this really opens your eyes, and makes you thankful for where you live and what you have. I do hope the conditions in which these women suffer improve tremendously in the very near future. I can only hope the veil they wear can be lifted an...more

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Jan 14, 2008 Bridget rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-for-old-book-club

This was OK. I can't say I learned too much - life sucks if you are a woman in Saudi Arabia...but I knew that already. Reading this reminds me that I am very, very lucky and happy to be an American. There is no mention of how the American writer befriended this Princess or the circumstances surrounding thier friendship. I think I would have liked that story. The end bugged me because it kind of just stopped, and then there was a note to go read the author's 2 more books if you wanted to know mor...more

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Feb 23, 2008 Annette rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who can handle reading a realistic portrayal of women in Saudi Arabia

Recommended to Annette by: Kalamazoo book club

Shelves: adult, true-stories

This book really affected me. I read this book about 13 years ago and still have not been able to erase the images from my mind. I found the treatment of women, as portrayed in this book, appalling. I was not prepared for the startling realism portrayed in this book. I gave it a favorable rating because it truly made me grateful that I am an American citizen. I did not give it a 4 or 5 because I found it to be emotionally disturbing. I would not recommend this book to anyone who prefers to read...more

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Jan 23, 2009 Laila rated it 3 of 5 stars

it is a sad story of a princess who lived horrible life behind the veils...

no human rights !!!!!!!!

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Oct 20, 2008 Kerry rated it 3 of 5 stars

This pictures portrays the life of a Saudi Princess. The book captures the reader's attention. The atrocious acts committed against women are difficult to read about at some points. I have to admit that some of the incidents absolutely incensed me, but it does illustrate some of the reasons why those in power have a great deal to lose by allowing progress to take hold.

I was bummed about the abrupt ending, but there are sequels I have heard. So maybe some of the hanging questions are explored in...more

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May 17, 2013 Chandrika rated it 4 of 5 stars

I started reading this book "Princess" and almost devoured it. I was not able put it down until I completed the entire book. It is extremely saddening and quite horrendous to learn about the position of women in Saudi Arabia. Though the story revolves around the Arabian world there have been similar stories from other Middle East countries.Certain instances in the novel like circumcision,girls being stoned to death,girls being married to 50 year olds,girls drowned in a pool are extremely horrify...more

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May 13, 2013 Leon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Sultana is a Saudi Arabian princess, a woman born to fabulous, uncountable wealth. She has four mansions on three continents, her own private jet, glittering jewels, designer dresses galore. But in reality she lives in a gilded cage. She has no freedom, no control over her own life, no value but as a bearer of sons. Hidden behind her black floor-length veil, she is a prisoner, jailed by her father, her husband, her sons, and her country.Sultana is a member of the Saudi royal family, closely rel

...more

Sultana is a Saudi Arabian princess, a woman born to fabulous, uncountable wealth. She has four mansions on three continents, her own private jet, glittering jewels, designer dresses galore. But in reality she lives in a gilded cage. She has no freedom, no control over her own life, no value but as a bearer of sons. Hidden behind her black floor-length veil, she is a prisoner, jailed by her father, her husband, her sons, and her country.Sultana is a member of the Saudi royal family, closely related to the king. For the sake of her daughters, she has decided to take the risk of speaking out about the life of women in her country, regardless of their rank. She must hide her identity for fear that the religous leaders in her country would call for her death to punish her honesty. Only a woman in her position could possibly hope to escape from being revealed and punished, despite her cloak and anonymity.Sultana tells of her own life, from her turbulent childhood to her arranged marriage--a happy one until her husband decided to displace her by taking a second wife--and of the lives of her sisters, her friends and her servants. Although they share affection, confidences and an easy camaraderie within the confines of the women's quarters, they also share a history of appaling oppressions, everyday occurrences that in any other culture would be seen as shocking human rights violations; thirteen-year-old girls forced to marry men five times their age, young women killed by drowning, stoning, or isolation in the "women's room," a padded, windowless cell where women are confined with neither light nor conversation until death claims them.By speaking out, Sultana risks bringing the wrath of the Saudi establishment upon her head and te heads of her children. But by telling her story to Jean Sasson, Sultana has allowed us to see beyond the veils of this secret society, to the heart of a nation where sex, money, and power reign supreme.

From Publishers Weekly

In this consistently gripping work, a Literary Guild alternate selection in cloth, the American-born Sasson recounts the life story of a Saudi princess she met while living in Saudi Arabia, offering a glimpse of the appalling conditions endured by even privileged women in the Middle East. Photos.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

One must keep in mind the context of time and place when reading this emotional and exciting book to alleviate some of the horror of the injustices endured by the women described here. Equality of men and women has not worked out in any society, but the status of women in Islam is more problematic in that canon law is applied according to the social climate. Consequently, countries influenced by the West, such as Egypt, are more relaxed than countries like Saudi Arabia that are ruled by strict Hanbali law, which subjects women to unwelcome marriages, execution at whim, and the boredom of purdah . In this book, Sasson ( The Rape of Kuwait , Knightsbridge Pub. Co., 1991) tells the fascinating story of "Sultana," an unidentified Saudi princess who yearns for recognition in her own right, not as an adjunct of men. For those who wish to know more, Soraya Altorki's Women in Saudi Arabia ( LJ 1/86) and Paryeen Shaukat Ali's Status of Women in the Muslim World (Aziz Pub., 1975. o.p.) are good. Recommended for popular collections. (Illustrations not seen.) Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/1/92.
- Louise Leonard, Univ. of Florida Libs., Gainesville
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Apr 28, 2013 Tiffany rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The truth of the matter is that things aren't going to change over there for women because the people in power (men) don't want it to change and the men here don't give a shit.

Why do I say that? I listened to this book on tape during a 14 hour car ride with my mother, father, and brother. Do you know what the men were talking about a week later? The fact that the narrator's family owned FOUR Learjets. FOUR. That's what they got out of it.

If it ain't broke for you why bother to care about it ch...more

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Mar 02, 2013 Camfaz rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: religion, m-f

Am at two minds with this book, Jean Sasson has given us an interesting historical, political look at Saudi Arabian culture and its and in a way how religion has been manipulated over the many years until now by the male domninated culture to take away women's rights all in the "skewed" view of religion. The tale is told through princess Sultana Al-Saud who we start of the novel feeling sorry for this unfortunate woman born in this harsh society. But as the tale progresses, i found myself dislik...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Woman was made to complement man and not to be used as a tool of his pleasure. What do you think about this?Is this happening today ?	4	28	Apr 20, 2013 08:50am
position of woman	6	121	Jan 05, 2012 10:48am
Veils	2	62	Aug 24, 2009 10:04pm

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