Book Review: Daughters of Arabia by Jean Sasson

BOOK REVIEW: DAUGHTERS OF ARABIA BY JEAN SASSON (SECOND PART OF THE PRINCESS TRILOGY)

About the Author: 

Jean Sasson is an American writer who is famous for her books written on the lives of women in the Middle East. She travelled to Saudi Arabia in 1978 where she met many women whose lives inspired her to write books about them. As I’ve mentioned a lot of times in my blog posts and in the book reviews on my Instagram feed, Jean Sasson is one of my favourite authors and this is the fifth book I read written by the author. She writes such amazing and inspiring books and her books should definitely be read by everyone. You can check out her website by clicking the link here.

About the Book: 

Daughters of Arabia is the second book written by Jean Sasson in the series of The Princess Trilogy which describes the life of Princess Sultana who was one of the many princesses of the royal family of Saudi Arabia. You can check out the review of the first part of the series, Princess on my Instagram feed (ravisha_pushkar). The first book was the first hand life experience of Princess Sultana from being a child in the Saudi royal family to the time when she got married. It described the lives of women in Saudi Arabia and brought out the fact that all women in Saudi Arabia, whether from a royal background or not, suffer a lot just because of being a female. They suffer a lot of cruelty on the hands of their male family members in the name of religion. The second book, Daughters of Arabia, is a further description of the life of Princess Sultana in which she focuses on the lives of her further generation, her son Ali and her two daughters Maha and Amani. The story starts from the incident where the Princess’s family came to know that Princess Sultana with the help of the author, Jean Sasson, came forward to recite her story and publish a book on the lives and stories of Saudi women. How the incident affects her life and why did she decide to go forward and publish a second part of the book is what the story is all about. It again describes the tough life which the females of Saudi Arabia are forced to live. The incidents include important issues like patriarchy, rape, divorce, circumcision, child marriage, etc. which are so necessary to be addressed in the society today. It brings out incidents which show that such horrifying practices are carried out normally in Saudi Arabia in the name of religion. How these practices effect the life of the Princess and what does she do to fight against them is what the book is about.

Review: 

I just loved the first part of The Princess Trilogy which I read two months back and so I decided to read the second part of the series. It’s such a wonderful book and has been written beautifully by the author. The best thing about the books written by the author is that they are so inspiring. They make you feel that you are living a very privileged life and that you are lucky to live a life in which you don’t have to experience such horrifying incidents. The book brings forward the plight of the women of all strata in Saudi Arabia and shows that women are provided with very little freedom to make their own choices and to live their lives on their own terms. Some incidents which are described are so overwhelming which will definitely make you feel a lot of things. I personally loved the book as it made me feel proud that there are such strong women in the world like Princess Sultana who have the courage to fight and raise their voices against such inhuman practices which are carried out in the name of Islam. It shows that females have been tortured and are still being tortured in the name of religion without the application of any logic and this torture results in consequences which destroy the lives of the females. It is a book which makes you feel the pain of these women and also makes you understand the horrors of life. It contains some beautiful lines as well which make it even more beautiful. I think it’s a perfect book!

To Read or Not to Read:

This book should definitely be read by everyone. It’s amazing and so intriguing. As a reader, I love the books which inspire me and so if you are looking for something inspiring to read, trust me this series is what you need to read right away. I would highly recommend this book to everyone. Trust me, you’ll never regret reading it. You can buy the first part of the trilogy from amazon by clicking the link here. If you’ve already read the first part then you can buy this book, Daughters of Arabia by clicking the link here.

“How true is that humanity refuses compromise during prosperity, and reaches out for arbitration when weak.”

Rating: 5/5

Thank you for reading :)