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Princess
424 pages
A gripping, intimate confession from inside a gilded cage, contrasting unimaginable wealth with profound systemic oppression.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like receiving a smuggled diary from a world entirely closed off to outsiders. It moves at a brisk, novelistic pace, pulling you into an atmosphere that is simultaneously dripping with unimaginable opulence and suffocatingly claustrophobic. The prose is straightforward and deeply confessional, prioritizing the urgent delivery of a hidden truth over literary embellishment. As you read, you are enveloped in a mood of simmering indignation, feeling the stark contrast between the glittering jewels and the absolute lack of personal autonomy. It is a deeply emotional experience that highlights the fierce, quiet solidarity among women living under extreme patriarchal control. This will captivate readers who devour narrative memoirs that expose the hidden realities of women's lives across the globe.
- Mood
- claustrophobic
- opulent
- tense
- defiant
- Tone
- earnest
- urgent
- confessional
- indignant
- intimate
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- the gilded cage · systemic oppression · female solidarity · hidden lives · illusion of wealth
- The writing
- Accessible, straightforward, and highly conversational, prioritizing emotional immediacy over literary flourish.
- The arc
- Moves from the innocent constraints of a privileged childhood to a simmering, defiant awakening against systemic injustice.
- Who it's for
- Readers who are drawn to eye-opening, narrative-driven memoirs about women's hidden lives and global feminist issues.
Content notes
- domestic abuse
- sexual assault
- misogyny
- forced marriage
- honor violence
About the book
Jean Sasson Bantam, 2004 - English fiction - 303 pages 24 Reviews "In a land where Kings still rule, I am a Princess. You must know me only as Sultana, for I cannot reveal my true name for fear that harm will come to me and my family for what I am about to tell you. Think of a Saudi Arabian princess and what do you see? A woman glittering with jewels, living a life of unbelievable luxury. She has gold, palaces, swimming-pools, servants, designer dresses galore. But in reality she lives in a gilded cage. She has no freedom, no vote, no control over her own life, no value but as a bearer of sons. Hidden behind the veil, she is a prisoner, her jailers her father, her husband, her sons. Sultana is a member of the Saudi royal family, closely related to the King. For the sake of her daughters, she decided that it was time for a woman in her position to speak out about the reality of life for women in her country, whatever their rank. She tells of her own life, from her turbulent childhood to her arranged marriage - a happy one, until her husband decided to take a second wife - and of the lives of her sisters, her friends and her servants. In contrast to the affection and easy camaraderie amongst the women, she relates a history of appalling oppression.
Description from Open Library.
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