'Princess'

[Kezzy]

I was just wondering if anyone has read the books written by a saudi arabian princess. There are three in the series:
Princess
Daughters of Arabia
Desert Royal
If you have read them let me know what you think!

Kezzy

[Arveleg]

I didn't know women in Saudi Arabia were allowed to write... lol

These do sound interesting.
I may have to look for the first one and see what I think of it.

[Mocha]

Well, Arveleg, women is Saudi ARE allowed to write. It's just that most of them aren't aspiring writers, and when they are, they write in Arabic.

As for these books, aren't they based on the life of a "Princess Sultana"? Well, if so, then they are a load of trash. I've read the "Princess" one, and let me tell you...women in Saudi hardly go through what's she's been to. It's mostly the people of the "Princes and Princess" society who are in such a bad situation. So, please, if you ever read these books, please keep in mind that it's more about the life of a Princess in Saudi, than the life of a Saudi woman in Saudi.

I just hate these books and what they represent. People in Saudi are being portrayed in a negative way rather than a positive way, especially with these kinds of books and news and such. Every country has it's own good and bad side, and someone should show the world that not all Saudis live such horrid lives.

I'm sorry if I've over-reacted. It's just that I always snap when I hear/read about these books and about how Saudis are being portrayed nowadays.

Please feel free to delete my reply if there is anything offending in it. Thanks :)

[Gwaihir]

Don't worry Mocha.. I don't think of Saudi Arabia like that! ;) And you didn't offend... you only stated your opinion, and it's good to hear the opinion of someone who is truly knowledgeable about the place from which the books originated. Yes, every country has its good and bad sides. :)

Now I don't feel like reading these books.. lol

[Mocha]

Thank you so much, Gwaihir, :grin: you really cheered me up with your last comment :grin: though I wish I knew of a good Saudi book for you to read, but I'm afraid that most of them are in English :-/

Though, if you'd like to read about Arabic writers, one of our most famous is Naghieb Mahfooz. He's Egyptian, and his works earned him the Nobel Prize In Literature. One of his most famous works come in a trilogy called...*searches for the English-translated versions*
ok, here they are in order:
Palace Walk,
Palace of Desire,
and Sugar Street.

He's about 30 works, so make sure you look his name up in google or any search-engine if you'd like to know more about him. He's like the Charles Dickens of Arabia :)

[Mocha]

sorry, I spelled his name in a wrong way. I just typed his name as it's pronounced in Arabic, and so it came out wrong. Here's the correct spelling of his name: Naguib Mahfouz

:)

[Gwaihir]

I've just looked up that author at Amazon.com, and saw that his trilogy is rated 5 stars.. well after all he was a Nobel Prize Winner! :) Thanks for introducing his books Mocha.. I've added them to my list of books that are yet to be read... the list is really growing fast! lol

[Mocha]

lol, I've yet to read them as well :p we read his "Midaq Alley" for our Arabic class, but I didn't really read my copy. I'm a very stubborn person and she wanted to force us to read the book, and so I ended up not reading it :p though a friend of mine read it, and she loved it.

Oh! Would you mind sending me your list of books to read?! I'd love to read it, since I've a list myself, but it's a lot shorter than last year's and I wanna know about more great books for me to add to my list :grin: