If you're Saudi, you most probably heard of the novel "Banat Al Riyadh", or "Girls of Riyadh". I read it. Quite interesting. However, does it really speaks about Riyadh's reality? Who cares?!
It really doesn't matter when Arabs read this novel, about four Saudi girls who live in Riyadh and each has her own adventures with boys and whatever. Sounds exciting, is it 100% true? Could it be?.. Yes. It could be, but transparent isn't like true. This novel might be true but not transparent, as it speaks about a certain type of girls in Riyadh, very specific.
What made me write this post is that I had an idea about a novel. I had this idea when I saw an English version of the recent best-seller "Girls of Riyadh". When it was just Arabic, I didn't care much, but now, English?
I know that she, Rajaa Alsane'a, the writer, might not realize that translating that book might give foreigners a wrong idea about Saudi Arabia. They might think that these girls represent Riyadh, and that Riyadh, being the capital of Saudi Arabia, represents Saudi, which is not true.
What I want to write about is the real truth. I want to put the right facts into a story; a novel. I want to make this novel as a response to Rajaa, and her translated novel. She should have thought twice before publishing that novel in other languages; being famous, writing a juicy story, and money shouldn't be the main goal of writing a novel. Writing a novel should be an expression of truth, or ideas. It should be the utilization of the talent in writing (which she might not be entitled to, considering that the Arabic version was written in slang).
If you're going to influence a large group of people by doing a certain act, you should look at the big picture. You should consider your values as well as the country's. You should think about basic concepts and values that you should not cross. You should simply be smart, not selfish.
It really doesn't matter when Arabs read this novel, about four Saudi girls who live in Riyadh and each has her own adventures with boys and whatever. Sounds exciting, is it 100% true? Could it be?.. Yes. It could be, but transparent isn't like true. This novel might be true but not transparent, as it speaks about a certain type of girls in Riyadh, very specific.
What made me write this post is that I had an idea about a novel. I had this idea when I saw an English version of the recent best-seller "Girls of Riyadh". When it was just Arabic, I didn't care much, but now, English?
I know that she, Rajaa Alsane'a, the writer, might not realize that translating that book might give foreigners a wrong idea about Saudi Arabia. They might think that these girls represent Riyadh, and that Riyadh, being the capital of Saudi Arabia, represents Saudi, which is not true.
What I want to write about is the real truth. I want to put the right facts into a story; a novel. I want to make this novel as a response to Rajaa, and her translated novel. She should have thought twice before publishing that novel in other languages; being famous, writing a juicy story, and money shouldn't be the main goal of writing a novel. Writing a novel should be an expression of truth, or ideas. It should be the utilization of the talent in writing (which she might not be entitled to, considering that the Arabic version was written in slang).
If you're going to influence a large group of people by doing a certain act, you should look at the big picture. You should consider your values as well as the country's. You should think about basic concepts and values that you should not cross. You should simply be smart, not selfish.
