A review by kay_bee_reads
Princess Sultana's Circle by Jean Sasson

2.0

Princess Sultana's Circle is the third book in Jean Sasson's Princess trilogy. I really loved the first book. The second was good. But by the time I got to the third book I was starting to feel a little jaded.

Let me just say that I believe that a lot of events described in this book are things that do occur in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries. I believe that women are considered and treated as even lower than second class citizens there and that they suffer greatly because of it.

That said, these books are purported to be the true stories of a single Saudi Arabian woman and I find that fact to be a little difficult to swallow.

Books require tension and conflict to be interesting, and these books were nothing if not interesting. Every single chapter seemed to outline or highlight some atrocity or violation of basic human rights. If this were a collection of women's stories from across the social board in Saudi Arabia I would find it easier to believe. But the fact that all of these things happen to or in the life of one woman sounds more like fiction than fact to me.

I think that author Jean Sasson, who spent over a decade living and working in the medical field in Saudi Arabia, had ample material gathered over the years of women and stories that she encountered in her personal and professional life and chose to attribute them all to one person.

And maybe I'm wrong. This is just what I feel.

I still think that these books highlight important issues that should be seen and heard worldwide. I think they can help to educate people about the plight of women in the Middle East. And I think people should read them with an open heart and an open mind.

I just don't think they are the true story of one single woman.

I feel more like they are the true stories of a nation of women.