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katyhargreads's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
lddecker's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
samama's review against another edition
5.0
For the past few years, I have mostly read books that were either comedic, thriller or contemporary, so the book ‘Girls of Riyadh’ by Rajaa Alsanea was quite a different type of book for me and it had a huge impact on me, which changed me in a better way.
The novel describes the relationship between men and women in Saudi Arabia and tells the story of four college-age friends, girls looking for love but stymied by a system that allows them only limited freedom and has very specific expectations and demands. There’s little contact between men and women, especially single teens and adults, but modern technology has changed that a bit, leading to young men trying everything to get women to take down their mobile numbers.
The internet is also a new medium that can’t contain women and their thoughts like the old system could, and the anonymous narrator of the novel takes advantage of that; she presents her stories in the form of e-mails that she sends out weekly to any Saudi address she can find.
I got attached to this book the moment I started reading it as it was the first time I read a book that offered a glimpse of reality in it. It made me gain wisdom without making me go through the harsh experiences the girls of Riyadh went through. I couldn’t make myself read another book for a whole week because I couldn’t get over how intelligently the book was written. I embraced the book and kept looking at the wall of my room for a few minutes and kept wondering if there will ever be a book as good as this again.
‘Girls of Riyadh’ is a really good read; I suggest it to all the girls out there especially the ones who are living in the Middle East as they will be able to relate themselves and their lives with it.
The novel describes the relationship between men and women in Saudi Arabia and tells the story of four college-age friends, girls looking for love but stymied by a system that allows them only limited freedom and has very specific expectations and demands. There’s little contact between men and women, especially single teens and adults, but modern technology has changed that a bit, leading to young men trying everything to get women to take down their mobile numbers.
The internet is also a new medium that can’t contain women and their thoughts like the old system could, and the anonymous narrator of the novel takes advantage of that; she presents her stories in the form of e-mails that she sends out weekly to any Saudi address she can find.
I got attached to this book the moment I started reading it as it was the first time I read a book that offered a glimpse of reality in it. It made me gain wisdom without making me go through the harsh experiences the girls of Riyadh went through. I couldn’t make myself read another book for a whole week because I couldn’t get over how intelligently the book was written. I embraced the book and kept looking at the wall of my room for a few minutes and kept wondering if there will ever be a book as good as this again.
‘Girls of Riyadh’ is a really good read; I suggest it to all the girls out there especially the ones who are living in the Middle East as they will be able to relate themselves and their lives with it.
mrucker's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
susiegorden's review against another edition
3.0
I learned a lot about what it is like to be an upper-class Arabic, Muslim woman in modern-day Saudi Arabia, thanks to this book. The culture and the context were fascinating. And I liked the format ... as a series of emails to a listserv. That felt natural, clever and timely. I struggled with the plot lines and found the writing melodramatic and soapy. It's appropriate that it's been compared to Sex and the City ... that feels apt. My criticism of that show would run along the same lines.
It also was a bit frustrating that it focused solely on these very privileged women. I completely understand that that is the writer's experience and lens. But I kept thinking about how much worse each of their situations would have been if they weren't able to escape (albeit only temporarily, in most cases) to countries where their actions weren't so limited. Sadeem is able to lick her wounds in London, then meets her lover in Paris. Michelle heads to America and then Dubai.
Don't get me wrong. I'm glad I read it and found it enjoyable. Just didn't love it.
It also was a bit frustrating that it focused solely on these very privileged women. I completely understand that that is the writer's experience and lens. But I kept thinking about how much worse each of their situations would have been if they weren't able to escape (albeit only temporarily, in most cases) to countries where their actions weren't so limited. Sadeem is able to lick her wounds in London, then meets her lover in Paris. Michelle heads to America and then Dubai.
Don't get me wrong. I'm glad I read it and found it enjoyable. Just didn't love it.
dayseraph's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting if not particularly flattering look into the private lives of young rich Saudi women. The vast majority of this book does not pass the Bechdel test, as men are the topic of almost every conversation among these women (which sort of makes sense culturally since women do not have control of their own lives). I found it kind of depressing.
meghan111's review against another edition
3.0
So this is about a group of friends in Saudi Arabia, from their late teenage years through marriages and divorces, and it's structured and written in a way similar to the Gossip Girls books, where an anonymous narrator is sending out a weekly email about the doings of the group. And the girls in Iran are wealthy like the Gossip Girls, and mention a lot of the same luxury brands and are in some aspects very Westernized.
Things get interesting with this, though, and it makes for compelling reading, not because of the writing, but because the book reveals so much about what it's like to live with enormous constraints on your behavior, and what it's like to live in a society where the genders are completely unequal, and how personal choices are complicated by the limits of what is proper in Saudi society. And yet at the same time I found myself just reading this on a surface level as a chick-lit type book about four friends.
Things get interesting with this, though, and it makes for compelling reading, not because of the writing, but because the book reveals so much about what it's like to live with enormous constraints on your behavior, and what it's like to live in a society where the genders are completely unequal, and how personal choices are complicated by the limits of what is proper in Saudi society. And yet at the same time I found myself just reading this on a surface level as a chick-lit type book about four friends.