- Paperback: 511 pages
- Publisher: Writers Club Press; 1st edition (28 Nov 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0595201164
- ISBN-13: 978-0595201167
- Product Dimensions: 23 x 14.9 x 3.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,143,642 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
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.
About the Author
Cinderella in Kuwait is an autobiography that exposes the tensions of intercultural marriage. Monika, 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.
Inside This Book
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Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Poorly written and in my opinion a waste of money,
By
This review is from: Cinderella in Arabia: A Cross-Cultural Autobiography (Paperback)
I bought this book, despite the relatively high cost, because I was interested in the subject matter and the fact that it was autobiographical. However, I was extremely disappointed with the style of writing. Although autobiographical the book is written as though a person other than Monika wrote it. Monika, the author, states herself as 'Monika' thoughout the text instead of referring to herself as 'I'. Furthermore, Monika seems to have an extremely high opinion of herself, labelling herself as 'our heroine Monika' in the book, which in itself is very offputting. I found the style of writing so bad that it was actually difficult to read and concentrate on the topic of the book. In the end I gave up and did not bother to finish this book.
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A powerful and moving real-life story!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Cinderella in Arabia: A Cross-Cultural Autobiography (Paperback)
This is an amazing story about an Austrian girl drawn into a cross-cultural marriage. Married for many years to an Arab in Kuwait, she was deprived of human rights and suffered cruel treatment and prejudice in a world incompatible with her Western values. 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. You may want to compare this book with PRINCESS by Jean P Sasson, who claims to portray the real life story of a Saudi Arabian princess whose life story is uncannily similar to Monika's true-life story, based on personal experience and genuine events. Monika's story is not deliverately sensationalist but strikes at the heart of the matter and makes, in my opinion, a much more meaningful blow in favor of women's rights. Why? Because it is sincere and truthful. Read it and see.
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
No comparison to Sasson's Princess books,
By A Customer
This review is from: Cinderella in Arabia: A Cross-Cultural Autobiography (Paperback)
I read this book to see how similar it was to Sasson's Princess books. The common themes were (1)women are oppressed in Arabic countries, and (2) mothers-in-law are jealous of their daughters-in-law. Other than that, the books are quite different. "Cinderella" relates horrible tales of oppression at the hands of her in-laws and husband throughout the entire book, unlike Princess Sultana's short run-in with her mother-in-law which resolves early in the book. Cinderella's distaste for Arabs in general colors much of the book, and her high opinion of herself is at times embarrassing (unlike Sultana's frequent self-criticism). Cinderella relates her experiences from the viewpoint of a middle-class freeborn woman. She is not afraid of hard work (cleaning up her inlaws' filthy residence, starting a restaurant), unlike Princess Sultana who doesn't cook or clean--she has servants at her beck and call. The Cinderella book is long and full of fantastic tales of abuse that go on and on until you don't see how anyone could take so much abuse without losing their mind.
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