Her story is full of the irony. She is a royal princess yet the men in her life (Father, Brother, Husband) run her life down to the seemingly insignificant details. Sultana lives in a palace but is not allowed to have even a driverÕs license. To travel out of the city she must have traveling papers signed by the male of the household. Sultana is like the bird in the gilded cage.
However, we quickly learn that Sultana has a rebellious nature. Sultana rebels against her brother Ali in a humorous yet frightening manner when she exposes his Ôsecret treasuresÕ (a collection of pornographic material and forbidden liquor). She rebels against her husband when he considers taking a second wife, by running from him with their children and millions of dollars. However her ultimate rebellion is against her countryÕs subjugation of females by providing the author with the material for the book.
Sultana, through her story, sheds light on some of the Muslim customs such as Òveiling," and their root in the Koran. She vividly describes for us the power of the religious leaders in Saudi Arabia.
She sadly and angrily cites many examples of women punished cruelly for sexual transgressions while the males involved are held blameless. We get a true sense of how little has changed for women in Saudi Arabia in over a thousand years due to a deep fear of change by the religious/political leaders. Western readers will have a difficult time not sympathizing with the plight of females in Saudi Arabia.
Many book club members questioned the storyÕs veracity. Others questioned some of the events in the story. Some felt that was a compilation of several individuals' stories woven into a narrative. Everyone felt that if this were the story of one woman, she would be at extreme risk of exposing herself even with a pseudonym.
Overall, while not literary genius, Jean Sasson does a superb job of bringing Sultana to life. The story is powerful and poignant. The reader gains understanding of the cultural and religious differences from the West as well as the irony that vast wealth cannot buy freedom.