Can I read Girls of Riyadh on EtoBox?

Girls of Riyadh by Sani, Raja Abd Allah; Booth, Marilyn; Alsanea, Rajaa is a work of fiction available to read on EtoBox.

What is Girls of Riyadh about?

From Publishers Weekly Four upper-class Saudi Arabian women negotiate the clash between tradition and the encroaching West in this debut novel by 25-year-old Saudi Alsanea. Though timid by American chick lit standards, it was banned in Saudi Arabia for its scandalous portrayal of secular life. Framed as a series of e-mails sent to the e-subscribers of an Internet group, the story follows an unnamed narrator who recounts the misadventures of her best friends, Gamrah, Lamees, Michelle and Sadeem—all fashionable, educated, wealthy 20-somethings looking for true love. Their world is dominated by prayer, family loyalty and physical modesty, but the voracious consumption of luxury goods (designer name dropping is muted but present) and yearnings for female empowerment are also part of the package. Lines like the talk was as soft as the granules in my daily facial soap or Sadeem was feeling so sad that her chest was constricted in sorrow appear with woeful frequency, and the details about the roles of technology, beauty and Western pop culture in the lives of contemporary Saudi women aren't revelatory. Readers looking for quality Arabic fiction have much better options. (July) Copyright

Who reads Girls of Riyadh?

Author

Sani, Raja Abd Allah; Booth, Marilyn; Alsanea, Rajaa

Publisher

Penguin Books Ltd

Published

2008

Language

EN

ISBN

9780143113980

Category

work of fiction

Subjects

Fiction, Western, Literary Fiction

Rating

4.1 / 5 (707 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-14