Customer Reviews

Single in Saudi

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I have been in KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and had hoped to read about a similar experience by another american woman. As a muslim and probably a bit more serious person, I was s a bit shocked at what the author wrote. There is an old saying "One who looks for trouble will surely find it." Genia definitely went out of her way to find "trouble." Her behaviour (heavy drinking, drug use, flirting, casual sex) as well as her less conservative (for arab standards) dress probably was like a green-light for those saudi men that Genia mentiones in the book. --- Genia's story, unfortunately does not mention many of the decent Saudis, that would have never behaved so debauched. --
In all, I felt like the book was written more like a Jackie Collins novel, then an account of an american nurse's 2 year-stay in the Kingdom. Perhaps, had it been different, the book (and the story) would have been less interesting for western readers.

I thought this book would give a realistic picture of life in Saudi Arabia, but boy was I mistaken. It is a simplistic account of a foolish sex and drug adventure. Its no wonder Arab men think all Western women are easy. Thank goodness she is a minority amongst all the nurses who go to work in the KSA. Her life there shows absolute disrespect to the culture and to other Western women. She was informed of the rules before she went and seemed determined to do it her way. Why even go? Please don't waste your money on this sad book.

This book was a page turner - the descriptions of her experiences in the medical field in such a different country, her travels during off times, the people she met were very intriguing. I had just finished reading all of Jean Sasson's books on life in the royal family of Saudi Arabia and was eager to read of this author's "American girl" experience. The author seemed very competent and together in her two years there but I was totally turned off by her social life. Was she exaggerating the amount of alcohol and drugs she consumed along with her overly-abundant sex life?? This was a bit over the top and hard to believe a top-notch nurse could abuse her body like that and live to tell the story. Her respectability in the eyes of this reader regrettably took a downslide as the book progressed due to her seeming need for sexual daliances with most every male she encountered. Too bad.

I was surprised by the favorable views of this book. I don't think I've ever read one that was as badly written as this one. Poor grammar, misspelling, and poor sentence construction aside, the context and style were dismal. The entire book seemed to be a monument to the author's ego and self-centerness. There are some marvelous books out there that are far superior regarding Saudi culture.

I had trouble following the story due to poor sentence construction and mis-spelled words. The last time I checked there was no such word as noone and it was used numerous times throughout the book. I have read many interesting books about Saudi, especially Jean Sasson's "Princess" series, but "Single In Saudi" was more about her sex life than about the lifestyles of Saudi. Very disapointing book but would have been slightly better if a proofreader had been used.

Review of Single in Saudi by Genia

Sex and drugs dominate this first book of the adventures of an American nurse at work in Saudi Arabia in the 70's. After the pill and before Aids, it was cool to be naughty and Genia was very, very cool. She was bold and adventurous, challenged by and challenging of the restrictions of the Saudi royal government. At the same time she was delivering top notch nursing service to her patients and was in demand for them.

While she was there she took every advantage of opportunities to travel, see important sites, meet and engage with important men, and take big bites out of life.

You may be stunned by her chutzpah, and yet one must give credit to a woman who got away with so much under the nose of restrictive people who would have doled out severe punishment in a heartbeat.

In addition, she lifts the curtain on the hypocrisy of the Saudi men, many of whom were of the royal family, and who happily initiated and participated in every debauchery available to them.

Genia has a wealth of memories to keep her company in her golden years, not many of which will be regret for what she did not do.

I just started this book last night and haven't even made it through the first chapter. I had to check the reviews here to see why I'd even purchased the book in the first place (I buy a lot based on recommendations). I was shocked to see all the positive ratings.

The book is loaded with grammar and spelling errors. If this doesn't bother you then you might find the book enjoyable. I'm not an English major, or one to correct anyone's grammar, but I expect a book to be written much better than this. A good proofreader would have easily discovered these mistakes.

I don't know if I'll finish the book at this point. Very disappointing.

Really great. Took me back to the Kingdom of the 1970s and 1980s before the money got tight and before the Gulf War. It's a different place today, but those of you who were there in those days will enjoy it. When the Kingdom was a place of parties and bed-hopping for any ex-pat who was willing.

I enjoyed "Single in Saudi", and I think it makes a great gift for a friend who might be looking for a fun read at the beach, on the plane, or any other place.

It's not "War and Peace" or a definitive analysis of gender and cultural conflicts. But "Single in Saudi" does not pretend to be any of those things.

Yes, it does provide insights into Middle Eastern culture, religious and political conflicts, man/woman relations, the geography of the old world, the challenges of trying to provide 20th century nursing care in a relatively primitive setting compared to most western societies, the horror of helping patients immolated after being raped, the joy of saving babies with birth defects and mid-wifing termed mothers on airplanes, as well as just living and working in primitive quarters where the water flowed only 3 hours a day.

But the educational component of "Single" is heavily sugar-coated with the adventures of a young American nurse exploring life in the old world during the roaring 70's when "drugs, sex, and rock and roll" were dominant cultural phenomena in America and, as a reader will discover, not totally absent from the Middle East.

If you want a heavy, serious book to trudge through which quickly puts you to sleep, "Single in Saudi" is not for you. But if you want some fun, something that teaches you a few things about the Middle East in the 70's and . . . . maybe keeps you up a little later to soak up all the adventures on the pages, "Single in Saudi" is a good book to have.

My feelings toward this book are really ambivalent. On the one hand, it is entertaining to read, on the other hand, the author is very unlikeable. You get a glimpse of this in the prologue where she coyly says that only she knows whether or not she really had all those sexual encounters. She admits that she added a lot of sex to spice up the book. If your memoir is so dull that you need to add fictional sex to make it interesting, should you even be writing one?

I hoped for an inside look of life in Saudi Arabia and all I got was a glimpse at a hedonestic, self-indulgent, insecure woman who proclaims feminism while allowing many, many men to use her body and treat her like a sex object. Sure she gave as good as she got by using them for free food and jewelry and airline tickets, but is it any wonder that men in other societies consider American women to be whores who can be bought. She judges the characer Johnnie for things that she herself is guilty of. It's really hard not to judge her for her actions, especially when she herself is so judgmental and condescending towards others. I felt that instead of trying to understand and appreciate Saudi culture, she looked down on it and felt like she was better than them. It is entertaining, as someone else put it, like a Jackie Collins novel. Don't expect any epiphanies or revelations.