Book #13: Girls of Riyadh

Title: Girls of Riyadh
Author: Rajaa Alsanea

Four Saudi girlfriends navigate the years from high school graduation to their mid-twenties.

We discussed Girls of Riyadh in our book club in February, and the idea we kept coming back to was how the conservative Muslim society in which the four friends lived served as an interesting mirror in which to view our own conservative religious culture. Although I'd argue that it's a no-brainer that Mormon women have more freedom than their counterparts in Riyadh (dress and driving alone are striking examples), but the girls in the story often seemed to self-limit based on what they thought other people expected of them. When on character marries a man who was in love with another woman before their arranged marriage, she blames herself because she hasn't been able to lure him into love, then blames him for abandoning her and their child. The style of the book (written as a series of expose emails to a listserv group), with the email's authors serving as both observer and rabble-rouser, allows the audience to feel like they're part of the culture and privy to the gossip that circulates in the world of the four women. It made me feel that rabble-rousers and cultural commentators have an important role in our own culture, and that we all have a responsibility kick against the pricks every once in a while.