A Bed of thorns ?. Review on Desert Royal - Jean Sasson

Jean Sassonhas written three books on behalf of “Sultana”, the Saudi Arabian Princess. Princess, Daughters of Arabia and of course Desert Royal. The challenge according to her was to come out with books that were as true as possible to the real life incidents but camouflaged enough to conceal the identity of “Sultana”, for if she were to be traced, she would end up in a suffering that would put to shame the cruelty the books were intended to expose. All three books can be treated as separate entities and you need not necessarily read one to understand the other.In the past two weeks, I read all three. Princess has been already reviewed on Mouthshut. “Daughters of Arabia” is surprisingly not listed, while Desert Royal has not been reviewed. So I thought I will do the honors.

The Book: Written in as much as 19 chapters, the last in the set of three books, details the flow of life of “Sultana”, in her middle ages. The book starts off with a dream that “Sultana” has about her late mother, who urges her to make her life more meaningful. From there on in, the book describes the plight of women in “Sultana’s” country. It brings to fore the fact that the status of women and her position in the society is not very different, no matter what their origins are. Whether it is Munira (a Saudi princess herself and “Sultana’s” niece) or women bought from the markets of Bangkok, Africa, India or Pakistan, they are merely objects to be possessed by the whimsical men folk. The book also gives us insights into imperfections of “Sultana” herself. The chapter in which she describes her drinking problem (and I thought Saudi was a country that banned liquor), is an eye opener in more ways than one.

Like the first two books, DR too details the lavish lifestyles of the Saudi royalty. At some places the descriptions of the exorbitant spending and royal comforts are never ending, that it almost assumes vulgar proportions (was that an intentional ploy?). The book spares no effort in exposing the sub human conditions that exist in the “Heavenly Harem” that’s owned by none other than “Sultana’s” cousin. The story of the Eunuch, who was the guard of the harem before he shifted his (?) loyalties to “Sultana’s” family, is a touching one. The book also deals with in passing issues like beheading in particular and capital punishment in general, the simmering revolt against the ruling dynasty of Saudi Arabia.

Through out the third book “Sultana” appears to be losing control of herself, always doubting her abilities for various reasons. The final chapters of the book are dedicated to the narration of a family camping in the middle of the desert, where strange set of incidents reposes in “Sultana” her faith in herself and her inner strength. The book ends on a rather optimistic note as compared to the relatively uncertain endings of the first two parts.

Impressions:Princess was outrageous. Though I had heard about the book earlier and almost knew what to expect, the revelations did shock me. Daughters of Arabia was intriguing, especially the parts where “Sultana” battles the sensitivities of her two daughters who are as different as different can be when it comes to their outlooks towards life. But since this is a review on DR let me limit myself to just this book.

The author herself describes “Sultana” as imperfect, as all of us are. But then what strikes you is not her own revelations about her imperfections but sections where she proudly flaunts her Royal status. There is a description of a shopping spree at Bergdorf Goodman in New York where in “Sultana” says she spent “only $388,000”. Some time after that shopping she meets a maid in her palace in London, who wanted to be a doctor, but cannot do so due to economic reasons. Though she sympathizes with the maid there is no reference of her helping the maid financially or other wise to attain her goal. Also the place at which she says, “what else can we do, we do more charity than the Koran demands us to do” comes through as very ironical. If she herself would quote the Koran to restrict the amount of help she can render, how can she find fault with fanatics who misinterpret the Koran to subjugate women.

In my opinion all these three books are in no way a negative judgment on Islam as a religion. In fact several sections of the book are dedicated to enlist the goodness of the Prophet and Holy Koran. If anything the book is severe indictment on the male chauvinistic societies in which we all live in.

I am a strong believer that religion was introduced into the society to discipline it. Unfortunately, the statutes in the religion (all of them) have been rigid and have refused to change to accommodate the changing times in which we live in. More worryingly, religion has also been subjected to interpretations of those who have held the power to mold it in any way they choose to. In the case of this book that influential section represented by the men of Saudi Royal family and the fanatics in that country.

But before I go any further let me also state that the book also describes men like Asad (a prince who married a divorced sister of “Sultana”) and Kareem (“Sultana’s” husband), who are forward thinking and believe in equality of genders. The author also makes it clear that the book only talks about one Saudi Princess and her family, and hence the book might not be representative of Saudi society as a whole. The book also mentions how centuries of subjugation has led to situation where a good percentage of the women are comfortable with their lot as the third grade citizens (man, eunuch and then women) and force the next generation to accept their fate without questioning.

But then the book is just a pointer. Looking around me I find that even in a country like India, we do have semblances of the events that have been described as happening in a remote Arabian country. We too are as obsessed with out stereotyped images of our women as the villains in this book are. Also while the books mention the frustrations of a royal member of the Saudi family, it also tells you shocking tales of how women are sold by their own family members in South East Asian countries and Africa. So to assume that the book is a condemnation of Islam or Saudi Arabian society is in my opinion being short sighted. The book is about legitimate requirement to recognize that one half of humanity is as vital and as capable as the other half is…. I do not really know how the book affects a woman who reads it, as far as I am concerned it will force every man to rethink what his stand towards women has been and maybe even burst that mythical bubble that forces him to assume that he has been fair to the fairer sex (for, who is he, to be fair to them…)