GIRLS OF RIYADH

This is chick lit with a major difference: It gives us four upper-class Saudi girlfriends who hope for true love and fulfilling marriage just as much as Elizabeth Bennet ever did--but in a very modern cultural setting far more confining as to women's power over their own futures than eighteenth-century England ever was. As social history it is fascinating. The translation from Arabic seems fluent; the author has provided many necessary footnotes explaining cultural semiotics (dress, accents, food, worship) whose import the non-Saudi reader would miss. Kate Reading handles these gracefully, and her Arabic pronunciation is confidence-inspiring. Best, she delivers believable, sympathetic characters and keeps the pot on the boil. This book is an eye-opener. B.G. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 07/ JAN 08]