Born in Kuwait, and the youngest of six children to well-connected Saudi parents, Rajaa Alsanea began studying dentistry when she was only 18 years of age.
That same year, inspired by her new surroundings, the 25-year-old began working on her debut novel. Girls of Riyadh is the controversial story of four modern women who weave their way around Saudi Arabia's strict moral codes.
Originally published in 2005, the book was immediately blacklisted and barred from bookstores throughout the Arab world. Photocopied versions sold briskly on the black market, and the book was eventually released abroad.
Alsanea now lives and studies in Chicago. In this exclusive interview, the author opens up to Stephen Clare about her experiences.
SC: What inspired you to write Girls of Riyadh?
RA: At first I did not choose to write about the girls of Riyadh. However, as I went to college, I began to interact with many females from different regions in my country. I went from the confined, everyone knows the other person, type of high school community to the expanded, people come from everywhere, university type of community. The experience was all new to me.
I interacted with many females who came from different cultural and social backgrounds and yet shared the same hopes, the same dreams and the same fears. Little by little, I started to observe and absorb their stories and their experiences. I got so involved I felt that I had to write something that would portray this experience.
To choose a topic, a writer tries to focus on issues that are of interest to the reader and at the same time gives the reader the chance to reflect on what he has read. I thought women in Saudi Arabia is a rich subject that has never been tapped before by a Saudi writer.
SC: Why do you think the story was important to tell?
RA: The importance of a story stems from the subject and the way it is handled. Saudi and especially women have been the subject of a great number of journalistic reports. Most of these reports were judgmental and measured the Saudi society using Western norms and values. It did not try to understand the Saudi society, but rather judge it. The novel, on the other hand, tries to show another side of Saudi life by a Saudi writer in a way that is not judgemental. It allows the reader to explore our way of life and make his own conclusions.
SC: How long did it take you to compose the book?
RA: I spent around 6 years in writing the novel. I wrote it in summer breaks while I was attending dental school (Dental school is 7 years in Saudi.)
SC: What were some of the challenges you faced while putting the book together?
RA: The biggest challenge came in the style of writing itself. I wanted to put a serious story in an interactive and creative style that would appeal to all readers and reflect how the internet has affected our life as Saudis. Therefore, I chose to write the novel in email formats. However, it took me a long of time to balance between writing the story and making sure that I am still in email format
SC: What was the most rewarding part of the experience?
RA: The debate it created about my generation in Saudi and our lives and rights. I feel that the novel had somewhat created a communication channel between the young and the old generation in Saudi Arabia.
SC: What did you learn during the process?
RA: I learned that communication and having a healthy dialogue are not inherited qualities, but rather gained through experience. I believe in any culture, time should be spent to develop these skills in any individual since young age in the schooling system and at home.
SC: What has public and critical response to the work been like so far?
RA: Critics in the Arab World haled the novel as a major breakthrough into Arabic literature and hoped that this novel will inject life into this form of Arabic literature. The public identified with the plight of the characters and started a real dialogue about Saudi women. Some, on the other hand, considered the novel a negative image of Saudi women and demanded that nothing be written about the negative side of the society.
SC: What happens now? Are you working on something new?
RA: I do have an idea for another book, but nothing has materialized on paper (or actually on my laptop screen) yet.
SC: Why did you choose writing as a career?
RA: I do not think you choose to be a writer as you do not choose to be an artist or a musician. It is different from choosing a professional career. You can choose to be an engineer or a lawyer. I was always born with the inner need to write. I enjoy writing. It helps me unwind and balance my World. Some people bathe or eat, I write.
SC: What books or authors have most influenced your life?
RA: I am a big fan of Dr. Ghazi Al-Gusaibi's writings. He is a former ambassador, current minister of labour and a very famous Saudi writer and poet well-known all over the Arab World. At the international scene, I admire Paulo Coelho, Milan Kundera, Patrick Ziskind and Antonio Gala.
SC: What makes a good book?
RA: I think the most important is the subject and then the way it is handled by the writer.
SC: Do you have any advice for other writers?
RA: It is important to read literature. I am an avid reader of books. You will be amazed to know that I have a library of around 5000 books. Reading opens your eyes on the different techniques employed by the different writers and it also gives you an insight into the way characters are built.
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