Girls of Riyadh: A Novel - Hardcover

Alsanea, Rajaa

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1594201218 ISBN 13: 9781594201219

Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The, 2007

Synopsis

Originally banned in Saudi Arabia, the tale of four young women university students from Riyadh follows their struggles to navigate the precarious paths between desire, fulfillment, and Islamic tradition while witnessing the ways in which the Arab world is being changed by new economic and political realities. A first novel.

About this title

About the Author:

Rajaa Alsanea grew up in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the daughter of a family of doctors. She currently lives in Chicago, where she is pursuing a degree in endodontics. Rajaa intends to return to Saudi Arabia after attaining her degree. She is twenty-five years old, and this is her first novel.

From AudioFile:

This is chick lit with a major difference: It gives us four upper-class Saudi girlfriends who hope for true love and fulfilling marriage just as much as Elizabeth Bennet ever did--but in a very modern cultural setting far more confining as to womens power over their own futures than eighteenth-century England ever was. As social history it is fascinating. The translation from Arabic seems fluent; the author has provided many necessary footnotes explaining cultural semiotics (dress, accents, food, worship) whose import the non-Saudi reader would miss. Kate Reading handles these gracefully, and her Arabic pronunciation is confidence-inspiring. Best, she delivers believable, sympathetic characters and keeps the pot on the boil. This book is an eye-opener. B.G. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1594201218
• ISBN 13: 9781594201219
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304