When I saw this book, SOME GIRLS: MY LIFE IN A HAREM by Jillian Lauren, I have to admit that it intrigued me..at a glance, one can't help but wonder if she was 'given' to a king or prince to join his harem? Was she abducted and forced to stay? Did she go willingly? Why and how did she end up there and how is it that she left that she came to write a book about it? Did she escape? Is this REALLY a true story?
It turns out that it is a true (and believable I might add) story about a young aspiring actress who answered to a casting call that ended up being a 'casting call' for fresh new girls to join a harem belonging to a prince of Brunei. As dramatic as it sounds, I could see how easily an eager, young, naive girl who was struggling financially could lose her morals and judgement to keep her self safe could get involved in something like this. Think of all of the young girls flocking to Hollywood or attending some audition or photo shoot by some sleazy creep with alterior motives? Lucky for Jillian, she went willingly, wasn't abused and was allowed to leave (the harem) willingly - when her time was up that is. Regardless of being paid hoards of money and receiving expensive gifts of jewelry and designer clothing shopping sprees, she WAS expected to stay within the palace compound and at times, even in a particular room and expected to be available whenever the prince 'wanted' her OR when he wanted his brother, the Saultan to have her as a gift for an afternoon.
As interesting as the basis of her book, I felt her whole experience and sharing her story with us was wasted on mediocre writing talent...granted, I'm no author myself but it got under my skin to the point where I had to put the book down or skim over areas where she goes on and on about the minor details of what someone is wearing, how they wore their hair that night but yet skipped over gaping holes such as to effectively express how she was feeling at the time or emotional details about the prince. Although she described physical characterists about various characters, I feel like I never got a chance to 'know' them. Being that it was based in Brunei, I felt that she overlooked describing more of their culture and customs in detail as well.
All in all, I guess I'm glad that I read it but then I feel cheated...I feel that 1/3 of the story is missing. Sure she's covered the surface issues but it's missing the heart of the story, the real meat of her experience and of all of the characters in the book. The last chapters in particular were very choppy...like she was rushed to have to meet a deadline or was simply ready for the book to be over with. I'm sure it was much longer but in my head, it 'feels' like she blazed through the ending so fast that she was in one place one day, then woke up tattooed another day, then married with a child the next. Perhaps she didn't want to go into THAT much detail but I can't recall reading how her husband feels about her past....what kind of person is he? How did he take it when she explained his past and further more, how he reacted when she decided to pen this memoir? In the end, she feels to me, a person who is devoid of emotion...perhaps she is emotionally distant and that's why her book is missing so much 'substance'? She feels to me, a person who holds a lot in yet maybe doesn't even realize that she does. In my opinion, in every day life, that's OK if that is how you want to carry yourself but if you are going to write a book about some very personal experiences, you HAVE to open up and let us in, you HAVE to show us more inside of your thoughts, emotions and the thoughts and feeling of those around you. If she was in fact rushed in the end, perhaps her story would have appeared to be more in depth if she had someone else helped her write it?
I give it a solid 3 stars although I WISHED it had been a 5 star book...
