Different viewpoint

Finished February 25
Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea
This book was first published in Saudi Arabia in 2004, and this is the English version. The book is written in the form of emails by a young upper middle class woman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She discusses the lives of four friends of the same class, but with differing backgrounds over the course of several years. We learn of their lives, private and public, the real-life circumstances of being a young woman in this country, and their innermost feelings. We seem them go through the trials of love, breakup, school and career success and learn a lot about the culture they exist in. I found this novel very interesting, with engaging characters. The naivete sometimes shown is believable and so is the strength of character. An interesting glimpse of a different culture.