Girls of riyadh tells the story of four collegeage high class friends in saudi arabia, girls looking for love but stymied by a system that allows them only limited freedoms and has very specific expectations and demands. Buy girls of riyadh by rajaa alsanea from amazons fiction books store. Girls of riyadh by rajaa alsanea books the guardian. Girls of riyadh was released in lebanon in arabic in september 2005. The novel, recounting forbidden details about the private lives of four young women from. It is written in gossip girl like style, with a woman writing emails to many internet users in saudi arabia anonymously, telling them about the lives of her four friends gamrah, sadeem, lamees and michelle. Find books like girls of riyadh from the worlds largest community of readers. Find a group in riyadh imagine what you could do with the right people by your side. Through a series of emails on a yahoo subscription list, an unnamed narrator relates the adventures of her.
Girls of riyadh by rajaa alsanea book club discussion questions. When she discovers her husbands secrets, gamrah desperately attempts to hold her marriage together. Save for the last 3 chapters, girls of riyadh by raja alsanea was a huge let down. Rajaa alsaneas girls of riyadh is a racy arabic take on manhattans carrie. Girls of riyadh kindle edition by alsanea, rajaa, alsanea, rajaa. Riyadh nightlife, meet girls in riyadh clubs while clubbing. The stories and relationships in girls of riyadh which tend to be seen as shallow or a bit silly and awkward, rather than momentous or serious, show us a side rarely discussed today the women s side. She is smart, motivated, and knows exactly what she and her friends are missing, but yet not strong enough to face the whole society by exposing her true identity.
But this love story is set in the conservatively islamic riyadh as opposed to the melting pot of manhattan. Rajaa alsanea grew up in riyadh, the younger of two daughters in a family of doctors and dentists. Facebook is showing information to help you better understand the purpose of a page. Goodreads members who liked girls of riyadh also liked. Addictively readable yet deeply political, girls of riyadh has been called the first modern arab novel and its comic but poignant accounts of contemporary saudi life make it an instant classic. This story of young women looking for love has been compared to books like bridget joness diary and sex and the city. Girls of riyadh by rajaa alsanea reading guidebook club. The book is written as a series of emails between a group of young saudi. In the conservative saudi society, the internet, cell phones, and bluetooth can be as important, if not more crucial, than facetoface communication. Certain expectations for women, for marriage, appearance, religion, and more, are echoed throughout the pages of girls of riyadh. The fact that this book is titled girls of riyadh is a bit misleading, as i think it really can represent a group of girls anywhere, as the heroines face heartbreak and. The novel describes the relationship between men and women in saudi arabia.
In the western imagination, as rajaa alsanea correctly says in her novel girls. About girls of riyadh when rajaa alsanea boldly chose to open up the hidden world of saudi womentheir private lives and their conflicts with the traditions of their cultureshe caused a sensation across the arab world. Girls of riyadh is being referred to as saudistyle sex and the city a secret look into the lives of professional women as they search for love. Visa, mastercard, american express paypal, diners club and discover. Girls of riyadh by rajaa alsanea book club discussion. Riyadh girls dance, eat mcdonalds and shop, but only with each other. In what ways does girls of riyadh s geographic and social context set it apart from its western counterparts. The girls of riyadh is a contemporary novel set in saudi arabia about a group of girls from the elite class of people in saudi arabia. Girls of riyadh and millions of other books are available for instant access. 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. The narrator in girls of riyadh is a well enlightened twentyfirst century young woman who lives in saudi. Check out groups in the riyadh area and give one a try.