Princess Sultana's Circle (Princess Trilogy)

Having now finished the trilogy, I highly recommend all three, including the last installment. It's not the best writing always, but it is a valuable glimpse into the mysteries of female life on the peninsula. As a man, much of this world is forbidden to me. I enjoy studying Islamic culture, but I am naturally restricted in observation to the world of men, whereas Western women can at times be with women, and be "honorary men" in the world of men. So I am indebted to depictions such as this, getting into the mind, heart, and life of a woman.Sultana isn't always the most likable character- but, at least in the version written by Sasson, she freely admits this. And there are times when it is difficult to believe that this actually comes from a true Saudi woman, because of the great awareness the protagonist has of Western points of view.I appreciate the insights the book gives into one particular worldview- that of a wealthy, royal, Saudi woman. She effectively communicates the oppression she faces as a woman, and yet the extreme privilege she has obtained by being born into the House of Saud. But there are a number of times when Sultana's unquestioned assumptions are more revealing than her message. The quickness of husbands to buy something to soothe their wives only serves to placate the women and buy them off from truly grappling with reality- it dismisses their genuine concerns by encouraging them to find answer in wealth rather than God. Likewise, Sultana and Sasson do a very effective job of showing the great discrimination by women faced on the peninsula, but bend over backwards to praise the religion of Islam and separate it from what Sultana faces on a daily basis. Sadly, while the Wahhabi sect in Saudi Arabia has certainly gone much further than the Qur'an in it's treatment of women, there are strong seeds of second-class status in the Qur'an and hadith themselves. This is seen in places where women are considered as less equal to a man in inheritance, the argument by Muslim theologians being that women need to be protected by men, and therefore men should have more money. Likewise in hadith (stories of Mohammed) that Sultana herself quotes about Mohammed having to redo prayer if a woman walked in front of him, and in the story that Sultana relates, again relying on Hadith, that a woman's silence means agreement to a marriage. This of course is based on a premise that women should be silent, not expressing themselves, and men should be doing the talking and thinking.These books are valuable, I believe, primarily because they reveal a world that needs such healing. Not simply a change in the actions of the Saudi government and religious police, but a change in the very nature and core of Islamic belief systems. Again and again Sultana shows us a world where the concept of gender reconciliation is completely foreign. Even when she has problems with a comparatively loving husband, she turns to scheming and gossip for answers; others turn to magic to control their husbands. These are the only answers they know. There is no call from either gender to try to understand the opposite, in order to fully love them. Understandably, for there is no call in Islam itself for this. Sultana's Circles shows us the fully surmountable obstacles to love.

This is the third of three books dealing with the plight of Muslim women in Saudi Arabia specifically, and of Muslim women throughout the world. Princess Sultana's honest voice in speaking the truth of this situation is compelling, saddening, enlightening and frustrating. There is no clear way to assist in changing the underlying social and religious core of another society, no matter how much that assistance is needed.But it is compelling reading, and so educational. Of course, as this is narration out of real life, though it reads like a story, it really never winds up with a 'happy ending' the way a novel might, as it is still lived history.I have found her three books to be brilliant reads and kudos to Jean Sasson for bringing this important first person narrative to view.

A friend recommended this book series to me and I could have been happier. I love reading books about real people and their real lives. This give you a person inside view of how horribly the women of the Middle East are treated. Sure they have more money than I would know what to do with, however you cannot put a price on freedom.

The third and last book in the Trilogy! I read the first two books and was sad to read the third because I knew it was the last! I sincerely hope Sultana decides to write another - I'd snatch it up in a second.Sultana continues on with her life and gives us all kinds of information culturally about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Sultana has three children and again - between her and her young adult children, they get into the funniest, laugh out loud, situations. Two of her children fight the system and learn to work around it - just like their mother. The third 'joins' the system and becomes some what of an advocate for the deplorable conditions set up for women (and men) within the Kingdom.Sultana writes with such honesty and candor that you can just feel her frustrations. Her marriage is unusual in that her husband allows her as much freedom as he can tolerate and obvious loves her very much. Sultana keeps fighting the 'veil' and allows readers to feel her quest of wanting to right so many wrongs.You won't regret reading this book and will walk away with new knowledge of what women go through in that country and great sympathy for Sultana as well as amazement over the great wealth of Princes and Princesses!

Love this series

I bought this book because I read the other 2 books in the trilogy. While I am happy I read the 3rd book, as it wouldn't have felt complete NOT reading it, I will say that it wasn't the best. I'd probably give it more of 3.5 stars, but that isn't an option. I felt that the writing of this book was sub par to the 2 other books in the trilogy. It seemed like the storyline was kind of all over the place and involved a lot of stuff that didn't necessarily relate to the main plot of the book. Princess Sultana seemed to show the most growth in this book, but instead of focusing more on that there were a lot of sub stories that just seemed to be a filler rather than imperative to the story. So, if you want another easy read that is fairly entertaining, I'd say give it a try. Just don't expect it to be the same quality as the first two books.