This book was good in the sense it solidifies what a nut case Saddam Hussein is! It was difficult to read parts because of how awful the Iraqi people, especially women, were/are treated. I'm hoping it's gotten a little bit better for the people.

'Mayada' is so touching and immediate that one cannot but be aroused and moved. Jean Sasson has an uncanny way of drawing her readers to her accounts with such urgentcy that language seems to be of no consequence. However, that is the sign of a brilliant writer who moulds her language so masterfully that it melts into the background seamlessly while her narrative leaps out of the pages as though it were an account of the reader's own life.

The accounts such as of Sultana (Princess, Daughters of Arabia) and Mayada do need a voice like Sasson's so that the world may know of their bitter experiences and their courage in face of enormous hostilities.

I’ve been looking for this book for 3 years, our libraries in Iraq need to be updated with more books like this.
This is not your bundle of joy and from the title of it, I know that anything with Saddam is far from being joyful.
I don’t know how to describe it, I put down this book so many times and I ignored it as much as I could because I either was crying my soul out or just feeling depressed about what happened to all the Iraqis who have lived in Saddam's Iraq.

This book is just the tip of the iceberg, I'd like to tell a spoiler for Mayada because at the end of the book she said the nightmare was over. Mayada the nightmare is still going.
I’d like to think that samara is okay and all of the shadow women in cell 52 are okay and living their life outside this nightmare.

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.

It's not bad at all, this book is based on true events, that reflect how Saddam regime was. The novel could have been much better if she focused or revealed more details about the period that she spent in jail, instead of speaking about her family members.

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 LOVED THIS
totally (re) challenged any ideas that i had about what it might have been like for women in the middle east (and -without intending on doing so- reminded me that I had absolutely NO IDEA what it is like [or has been like] for people outside of my culture). This was perpetually engaging and continuously surprising, and I read it within four days (even whilst studying for exams, and taking them). I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone who has any slight interest in a culture other than 'American.'

Not sure why it took forever to read this, but it's really good. Within the confines of an Iraqi prison, readers learn about a woman named Mayada who hails from an important Iraqi family. As Saddam Hussein's regime takes over, however, Mayada and her family find themselves without "protection" and Mayada is imprisoned for a month with other women until she is released and able to flee the country for Jordan. Readers also learn the plight of Mayada's cell mates who are falsely imprisoned and brutally tortured daily.

I couldn't believe what I read. I know people kill but this pure form of torture. This is one book that shows that its not happy endings always. And its a true life story. You can easily picture the images in your head. I could not forget it. Took me awhile to get over this book.

If you have any doubt that going into Iraq and releasing the people of their evil dictator was wrong, then read this book. I had no idea how hard it was to live in that nation, the constant fear and mistrust of everyone (even your relatives). If you had a disagreement with someone, they only had to report you to the secret police on a trumped up charge and you would be put in a prison to be tortured until you admitted to something that you were completely innocent of. I am so grateful to have the freedoms I take for granted, wow, amazing eye opener!!! It is a very personal story of Mayada, a well to do Iraqi and her experiences. An easy and quick read.

This was a very upsetting book to read, not that I expected it to be light reading...I think the hardest part was how arbitrary punishment was doled out. I cannot imagine living in a society where I would have to be constantly fearful of my life. The letter at the end of the book was even sadder. It was hard to read it and not know what happened to the rest of the shadow women.

As it's authored by Jean Sasson and it's about Iraq, I knew I'll love it but at the same time I knew I'll hate it!
It made me feel outraged, saddened, helpless, happy and a lot more emotions! Its start made me regret that I bought it, but gradually I was in a state when I was constantly thinking about Mayada and other people living there. I read it in less than a day just because I wanted it to end! I was craving for a happy-ending! Ever since I read Princess by Sasson, I was determined not to read any other book like that because it makes me helplessly sad. But then, eventually I ended up reading this (and I know I'll read the trilogy as well)!
So, my reaction is bitter-sweet.
Definitely I like her writing skills.
5/5 from my side!