The Glass Castle
Book By Jeannette Walls
The amazing discovery of the world of books has been one of the remarkable things in my life. I read a book and feel nothing can be better than this one and just then i discover a new one....
The Glass Castle is an amazing memoir of the life of the author , Jennette,whose family is absolutely dysfunctional ( well that's what most of us would think!!! ), opposite of what you would ever believe is good parenting, nomadic , lacking in what the so called families would want to believe that life should be about. At one point of time you almost feel sorry for the author and want to feel bad about her childhood....but by the time you finish the book you realize that Jeannette had absolutely no self pity , her childhood has been full of learnings of such a wide variety and the family bond is much stronger than that of the "so called normal families".
Let me give you a little peak into her life...her father is an alcoholic but most brilliant and imaginative who teaches them physics, geology and lessons of life that you will not learn in a school. Her mother is a free spirited woman who does not like the idea of domesticity but still teaches her children to take care of themselves and love their lives. Jeanette and her siblings went for days without food, living in rags, without a bath , untreated wounds and without heating in the house when it was freezing outside...but then they just learn how to deal with situations and you realize that why do we create such a fuss about all this. But they have all grown up to be extremely successful individuals loving and respecting each other just the way they are
Read this book and it will change your view about what normal is !!!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Daughters of Arabia
Book Written by Jean Sasson
Part of a Trilogy (Princess, Daughters of Arabia, Desert Royal)
As soon as i finished reading Princess, I wanted to read this book. The sequel begins with the story of how Princess Sultana's anonymity gets discovered when her brother (who by the way is one of the villains in her story....yes its beyond sibling rivalry) spots this book on an airport and the stories sounded familiar. But the great part was that the immediate family decides to guard this as a family secret to prevent their own downfall in the royal family. It was a relief to know that she was not punished and her husband of all the people was so supportive.
This book is about the story of her two daughters Maha and Amani. Though Princess Sultana and her husband are raising their daughters in the best possible way and trying to treat them as equal with their brother yet they see the stifled lives of other women around them. The story is about how the daughters reacted to the environment....very different from Princess Sultana's reaction but equally desperate.
The high point for me in this book was the description of their trip to Mecca ( the holiest place for the followers of Islam). It was very interesting to read it from her point of view. This book is much softer as compared to Princess as it talks about the other changes happening in the society. Women are studying, men are becoming more tolerant and how the Gulf war has changed economic and political scenario in the country.
I think it was a good decision to read this book immediately after Princess as it kind of gave me some peace to read that things were improving for better.
Book Written by Jean Sasson
Part of a Trilogy (Princess, Daughters of Arabia, Desert Royal)
As soon as i finished reading Princess, I wanted to read this book. The sequel begins with the story of how Princess Sultana's anonymity gets discovered when her brother (who by the way is one of the villains in her story....yes its beyond sibling rivalry) spots this book on an airport and the stories sounded familiar. But the great part was that the immediate family decides to guard this as a family secret to prevent their own downfall in the royal family. It was a relief to know that she was not punished and her husband of all the people was so supportive.
This book is about the story of her two daughters Maha and Amani. Though Princess Sultana and her husband are raising their daughters in the best possible way and trying to treat them as equal with their brother yet they see the stifled lives of other women around them. The story is about how the daughters reacted to the environment....very different from Princess Sultana's reaction but equally desperate.
The high point for me in this book was the description of their trip to Mecca ( the holiest place for the followers of Islam). It was very interesting to read it from her point of view. This book is much softer as compared to Princess as it talks about the other changes happening in the society. Women are studying, men are becoming more tolerant and how the Gulf war has changed economic and political scenario in the country.
I think it was a good decision to read this book immediately after Princess as it kind of gave me some peace to read that things were improving for better.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Princess
Book written by Jean Sasson
Part of a Trilogy (Princess, Daughters of Arabia, Desert Royal)
This is the kind of book that will give you goose bumps. It is true life story of a Saudi Arabian princess ...confused that how a story about a royal lifestyle ever give you chills....this book realistically captures the contradictions & extremities in that society and the power of unlimited wealth.
Princess Sultana is a real Saudi princess who has told her story anonymously through the writer. She talks about how the life of women in her society is controlled by the various men in their life -father,brother and husband and how they are treated as objects. She has all the wealth in the world...we are talking about the types ....where you have palaces in every major city of the country, priceless jewels, unlimited people to serve you, private jets to take you for a one day shopping trip to Harrods or wherever you wish to go.....But then she reveals shocking stories of forced marriages, sex slavery, honour killings and other extreme atrocities against women.
But on the positive she also tells a story of how women like her are trying to voice their opinion in a society and hoping for a better tomorrow for her daughters. She gets married to a really good man. The book also gives a little history of the country which was good to know. Princess Sultana is a strong believer of Islam and clarifies that all these atrocities are NOT because of anything that The Prophet actually taught.
I have also came across an article on the net that talks about some controversy about some facts mentioned in this book (the parts about female genital mutilation)....so i needed to remind myself that this book was written in 1992....things must have changed after that and i need to take everything with a pinch of salt.
Book written by Jean Sasson
Part of a Trilogy (Princess, Daughters of Arabia, Desert Royal)
This is the kind of book that will give you goose bumps. It is true life story of a Saudi Arabian princess ...confused that how a story about a royal lifestyle ever give you chills....this book realistically captures the contradictions & extremities in that society and the power of unlimited wealth.
Princess Sultana is a real Saudi princess who has told her story anonymously through the writer. She talks about how the life of women in her society is controlled by the various men in their life -father,brother and husband and how they are treated as objects. She has all the wealth in the world...we are talking about the types ....where you have palaces in every major city of the country, priceless jewels, unlimited people to serve you, private jets to take you for a one day shopping trip to Harrods or wherever you wish to go.....But then she reveals shocking stories of forced marriages, sex slavery, honour killings and other extreme atrocities against women.
But on the positive she also tells a story of how women like her are trying to voice their opinion in a society and hoping for a better tomorrow for her daughters. She gets married to a really good man. The book also gives a little history of the country which was good to know. Princess Sultana is a strong believer of Islam and clarifies that all these atrocities are NOT because of anything that The Prophet actually taught.
I have also came across an article on the net that talks about some controversy about some facts mentioned in this book (the parts about female genital mutilation)....so i needed to remind myself that this book was written in 1992....things must have changed after that and i need to take everything with a pinch of salt.
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