it wont only keep you on your toes, but it will also leave you educated about iraqs history, well before sadams regime. an extraordinary book, one that you wont be able to put down.

الكتاب من ناحيه المحتوي كان فضيع بكل ما يحتويه من القصص، مثلت العراق افضل تمثيل لدولة الاستخباراتيه درجه اولى!
كل شي تحت السيطره ،الكل مراقب، كل حديث ولو كان تافه مادام جُر فيه اسم القائد فهو جريمه يعاقب عليها القانون!!!


مياده العسكري روت لنا قصتها وعلاقتها وعلاقه عائلتها -خصوصا امها - بصدام و عائلته
تُسجن لمده اقل من اسبوع للاشتباه بها في اثاره فتن تحريضيه ضد الرئيس ف تتعرف في السجن على السجينات و تسرد قصصهم في الكتاب

بشكل عام الكتاب يُصور الحال العراقي في ظل حكم صدام و ناقش قضايا مهمه حدثت و اعتقلات والتعذيب

لكن للاسف هناك بعض النقاط كان مصدر ازعاج لي خلال القراءه وهي:
- اسلوب الكتابه للاسف كان ضعيف جدا لدرجه لم اعيش القصص واحسستها مجرد سرد بدون روح برغم انها كان يدمي لها القلب قبل العين من فضاعاتها،
- كثير الكلام الانشائي العديم الفائده ، لم استحمل كثره المداخلات و جمل الحوارات الداخليه ، كثيره و ممله بدون ادني شعور لها، لدرجه اني كنت طول الوقت ابحث عن زبده الموضوع و اتجاهلها
- انا من النوع الذي يعيش و يفضل ان يكون الضمير في الكتاب هو المتكلم (الانا) وليس ضمير الغائب ، طول قراءتي وانا اقول ليت مياده العسكري هي من كتبت الكتاب بنفسها و لم تعطيه لجين ساسون لتكتب القصه، مياده صحفيه وكاتبة قصص متأكده انها كانت تستطيع اخراج الكتاب بأسلوب اكثر تأثير و قرب للقلب

في النهايه الكتاب جميل بقصصه الفضيعه القليل التأثير بسبب اسلوب الكتابي!

Powerful, eye opening book. Mayada is the granddaughter of the most famous and respected leaders in Iraq; Jafar Pasha Al-Askari, who was the Defense Minister and Prime Minister of Iraq, and Sati Al-Husri, who was one of the first Arab Nationalists and also a government minister. First hand portrayal of the treatment of women in Iraq under Saddam Hussein, and all she endured in the Iraqi prison as a woman. So sad and hard to read at times.

Heartbreaking. I read it with tears streaming down my face. Very hard to read but I couldn't put it down. I NEED to know what happened to the Shadow women! It makes you realize how many evil evil people there are in this world

My 2010 bookcrossing review:

Well, at times this was really uncomfortable to read.

It's the story of an Iraqi woman, Mayada, who comes from a very priviledged and well to do background. Which is probably the only reason she's around to tell her story. Accused of producing anti-government leaflets, she is dragged off to some kind of prison/detention centre where people were detained for all kinds of made up ridiculous reasons, and tortured daily by sadistic headcases who should have been tied into small bags and drowned. It is quite distressing to think that this actually happened, and that there were and are people that nasty out there. And the "crimes" that people were imprisioned, tortured and executed over... you could have your tongue cut out for saying something bad about Saddam or his family. Crazy. Just imagine what life would be like here if we had such a rule. Most of the country would be mutilated and behind bars now.

And just as you are disgusted by what people are capable of in this book, there is also the Shadow women, who remind you that humanity does still exist. These were the women locked in the cell with Mayada; they all looked after one another and kept each other going. And we never find out what happened to them, but presumably a lot of them died in those prisons.

Grim reading, but at the same time it feels like it's pretty essential stuff; that everyone should know about this.

If you have ever questioned the removal of Saddam Hussein in Iraq by United States forces or pondered the impacts of his regime, this is a must read. If you have ever taken for granted the value of democracy, freedom of speech, and freedom of movement that most Westerners and Europeans enjoy, this is a must read. While educational throughout, the book is frightening, horrific and sad. At times, I found myself holding my breath. I am so thankful to Jean Sasson for enlightening me about the Middle East through this book and others like Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arab and Princess Sultana's Daughters.

The story itself was enlightening, poignant and tragic. But I was struck by how she seems to remain positive.

What I appreciated most about the book is the historical perspective it gives. Her family is so tied to the last century of history in that area that it helps one begin to understand the current situation in Iraq.

I give this book a hearty recommendation.

Jean Sasson has a way of writting that makes you feel she's chatting to you as a friend. This story is both moving and at times humurous. It's an interesting inside view of polotics in Iraq. This book should be a movie. The female prisoners in this story are my heroes. I will cherish this book.
Divine

Jean's way of writing is amazing as usual ! At a certain point I couldn't stop crying :( unfortuantely , Jean did not draw the full picture of Iraq ... She talked about the Iraqi prisons and bad consequences of the the Iraqi-Irani war , from my point of view I can see another good achievements at Saddam's reign .

This book is an account of Mayada being unjustly put into an Iraqi prison under the rule of Saddam Hussein. Mayada shared a prison cell with about 12 other women, all of whom had a story to tell of how they ended up in prison (none of them had committed crimes), their families who had no idea where they were, and the tortures they endured. Mayada differed from these women in that she came from a well known and respected family and therefore didn't endure as much torture.

This story was an eye-opening look at life in Iraq during Saddam's reign. There is much dispute over whether the war in Iraq should have occurred. After reading this book I am relieved that Saddam Hussein and his followers were taken out of power.

Overall, this book was worth reading...not pleasant, but worth reading.

I couldn't finish "Reading Lolita in Teheran", but this was a gripping real life tale about another middle eastern woman, of impeccable family, well-educated, divorced, and trying to run a printing business in Iraq when she fell into the paranoid hands of the warped legal system.

This is a look into the lives of a group of women unjustly imprisoned during Saddam Hussein's regime. I sincerely hope that the women from cell 52 and all the other innocent people held in those prisons lived long enough to see freedom.