Cinderella in Arabia
Cinderella in
Arabia
by Monika al-Amahani
in
UK in
USA
Cinderella
in Arabia
A Cross-Cultural Autobiography
by Monika
al-Amahani
US price: $25.95
UK
price
£18.04
Format: Paperback
Size: 6 x 9
Pages: 532
ISBN: 0-595-20116-4
Publication Date: Nov-2001
Cinderella in Arabia is a serious critique of Gulf Arab society, revealing
the devastating crunches the author has so triumphantly survived in her
intercultural marriage.
Moving from adolescent dreams under the spires of Oxford to the
incestuous, corrupt, and filthy-rich milieus of modern Kuwait, this book
tears away the veil of hypocrisy, misunderstanding, and myth which shrouds
the contemporary Middle East. Forget about political correctness. This is
a true story that takes you into the heart of 'wastaland,' where whom you
know gets you where you want to be, where haute couture garments rub
shoulders with the spirit of the Middle Ages and where women are still
bought and sold and consigned to a life of obedience . . . or else! Step
into the land of oil . . . and the riches it brings . . . and prepare to
be shocked by what you learn.
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There are 22 authentic photographs of
the author's life in Arabia pressed amongst the pages of CINDERELLA
IN ARABIA. They help the reader to feel closer to all the characters
in this true life story.
Cinderella in Arabia may be ordered from the following on-line bookstores:
Reviews of Cinderella in Arabia
10 January, 2002 
The real Princess, please stand up!
When
you have read
Monika al-Amahani's Cinderella in Arabia, then you may be tempted
to read Princess
by Jean P. Sasson. Princess is
an exciting read, but beggars belief in the accuracy and truth of the
outrageous events described in what reads like a sensational novel rather
than a real-life exposé of Saudi society. The unbelievable act of an Arab
father executing his own daughter by chaining her and drowning her in the
family swimming pool in the presence of family and friends defies
credibility and, if true, would have surely hit the world’s headlines,
and an act so outrageous would surely have become common knowledge in
Saudi society. I would think
that most Saudi readers would be incensed by the implied accusations of human
cruelty and infringements of women’s rights and freedom in their
country. I was much more impressed
by ‘Cinderella in Arabia’ by Monika al-Amahani. Although just
published, the manuscript of Monika’s book was copyrighted before
‘Princess’ and is the story of a real person, not a conglomerate of impressions
condensed around a real-life persona.
Monika, an Austrian, met her romantic Romeo, an
Arab student from Kuwait when he was a student at Oxford, and for many
years after marrying him she lived in Kuwait. Cinderella in Arabia
is an autobiography that exposes the tensions of intercultural
marriage. Our heroine, as a naive young Austrian student, believed she was
marrying a Muslim Prince Charming and found herself welded to, persecuted
by, and entangled with the whole of his family and culture. Her sometimes
tragic, often ludicrous, but constantly volatile lifestyle drove her to
the fringes of human despair as spells thickened the air, her businesses
burnt down, and infidelity reared its ugly head--again and again.
Anyone reading 
Princess will not only be struck by the
uncanny similarities to Monika’s heartrending story, but will also note
how Monika’s story is more vibrant, richer, and more detailed.
Princess by Jean P. Sasson: $10.36 from Amazom.com (US)
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See
more information regarding the background to Cinderella in Arabia,
provided by the author: click
here