Love is Blind, says my Kangmas!

Length: 286 pages
Publisher: The Penguin Press, New York


"Lamees joined Michelle that night in consuming a bottle of expensive champagne. Michelle had filched it from her father's storage cellar, which held special drinks meant strictly for important occassions. After all, didn't Gamrah's wedding deserve a bottle of Dom Perignon? Michelle knew a lot about brandy, vodka, wine and other such things. Her father had taught her how to pour him red wine with red meats and white wine with other dishes. Since drinking alcohol is forbidden in Saudi Arabia, as it's against Islamic law, Lamees had never before tasted any of these drinks, except once at Michelle's, and then she did not find the taste of whatever it was particularly pleasant. But, hey! After all, tonight the two of them were celebrating Gamrah's wedding! So she joined in with Michelle, since they wanted to make this evening special and unique in every way they could." ("Girls of Riyadh", page 18).

BMW X5 SUV with dark-tinted windows, King Saud University, Western zodiac manuals, Barry Manilow's "Can't Smile Without You", "Sex and the City", superb Napa Valley's Chardonnays and Cabs, plus Yahoo and ICQ mixed with Holy Qur'anic verses: these are the daily staples of life for Gamrah, Michelle, Sadeem and Lamees, four jet-set girls from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Obviously for some this book is outrageously bold; but interestingly, Rajaa Alsanea succeeds in persuading her readers to try to comprehend the complicated lives of the Arab girls in this era of globalization. On one side, the four friends want to maintain their identity as Muslimahs, but on the other hand, as normal young women this digital world full of intriguing men is too chalenging to pass by. Well what's a girl to do with so many temptations?

"Girls of Riyadh" is written in such a cute way that reflects Alsanea's curious observation of life. She's smart, fluent, and above all, has a great sense of humor that results in such an entertaining book as a first-time writer.

In the end, "Girls of Riyadh" confirms my belief in the Prophet Muhammad's (Salallahu Alayhi Wassalam) saying that "An Arab is no better than a non-Arab. In return, a non-Arab is no better than an Arab. A red-raced man is not better than a black one except in piety. Mankind are all Adam's children and Adam was created out of clay." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of Abu Musa].

For that matter, wealth is not the currency of heaven; in the eyes of God, a human being's goodness is not measured in wealth. A rich person is not better than a poor one, and a poor man is no better than his rich neighbor, except in piety.

Thank you, Sister Alsanea, for the enlightenment; and may God bless us all.