As one opens the pages of Princess by Jean Sasson, the reader embarks on a journey of love and discovery, pain and subordination, triumph and perseverance.  Although the reader will never know the true identity of Sasson’s subject, “Sultana,” she becomes a confidant as one identifies with her troubles and her great character.  The reader befriends an empowering woman--a rebel revolutionary in her time--and uniquely, she happens to be a princess.  Combining the qualities of a novel, with dialogue and first person narrative, and intertwining history of Saudi culture, customs, and politics, the reader is truly captivated through and through.  Sasson’s recording of Sultana’s life is mind-boggling in its clarity through vivid descriptions and recreated scenarios as well as in the atrocities which it displays.  Yet, most poignant, are the experiences of the character--her ability to transcend the imposing gender roles of her society, her vigor, and her lessons showing the reader that there is more than a body behind the veil.
    Sultana is one of the one thousand direct descendants of King Abdul Aziz.  She could never reveal her true identity for fear of punishment from her family.  In a land where religion governs and violence is socially acceptable Sultana lives as a female.  She will never have a birth certificate or a tomb stone for women are not considered true members of society.  In the eyes of the tyrannical men who rule her world, she is an object of sex, of reproduction, and of no true worth.  Yet to the reader, she is Sultana--the embodiment of hope and perseverance for Saudi women. 
    Sultana takes the reader through the trials and tribulations of a young Saudi princess and the reader becomes amazed by her perceptive insights at such a young age as well as her rebellious spirit.  The reader travels through the life of a girl.  Yet while the American would experience first dates, first days of school, and experimentations with the privileges of adulthood Sultana discusses the first time she was hit by her father, the first time she felt rejected because she was a girl, her first time veiling, and her first friend to perish at the will of the men who control her life.  At the age where we would be attending college or finding a job she had already been married and had children.  It is hard not to cry and not to want to reach out and take her away from her life of enslavement yet, at the same time, it is difficult not to urge her on.  As she discusses her experiences over a thirty year period, each of one of her adventures and her narratives have a lesson to the reader about her oppressive country and express her hope that she can make a difference.  That is her reason to live and the reader’s reason to continue to read.  Knowing that her influence on other women and her role in the lives of her children can form a new generation of Saudi Arabia--one of more knowledge, one of more democracy, one of more modern ways, and one of more freedom for her sex--pushes her to wake up everyday in a country where she is hated and encourages us to be there for her every step of the way.
    Sultana teaches us of her belligerent rulers and her life with such passion.  Her feelings are directly transferred from her heart, to the pages, and into the reader’s skin.  “I was born free, yet today I am in chains.  Invisible, they were loosely draped and passed unnoticed until the age of understanding reduced my life to a narrow segment of fear,” (page 17).  The book has a large focus on empathy for Sultana--feeling her fear and apprehension, being able to hear her sobs, and enabling ourselves to see her tears as they slide down her face. 
    Yet another significant portion of it is educating the reader.  Sultana wants the reader to come away knowing that there is more to Saudi women than large bank accounts and endless black coverings.  Underneath their restrictions are minds eager to learn and express.  Although Saudi women may all look the same on the outside, each is unique in her face and her experiences.  Sultana is an overflowing pot of knowledge and inspiration, subdued by the men who control her life, yet freed by the reader.  “It was my thought that we women should have a voice in the final decision on issues that would alter our lives forever.  From this time, I began to live, breathe, and plot for the rights of women in my country so that we could live with the dignity and personal fulfillment that are the birthright of men,” (page 60).  As these words flow from her mouth you identify with every woman who has been beaten, every female who has felt intimidated or threatened, and every young woman who has tried to make a difference.  As she speaks with such honesty and with such zeal one cannot help but want to hold her hand and help her achieve things that we consider rightful privileges yet for her are almost dreams.
    In addition to her vast knowledge and her great emotion is her spunk.  She has this wit, uncommon to many of the other women the reader encounters in her stories, and one that one would associate with men.  No matter how horrible the situation she will give some sly remark assuring the reader that she refuses to fall victim to the hands of such backward people.  No matter how intimidated she may be she continues to “press the buttons” of those who try, with their threats, to defeat her.  Her vitality convinces us that women will have their revenge someday--it is inevitable.  During the Gulf War, Islamic women tried the patience of their rulers as they drove cars and saluted American female soldiers on their streets.  Sultana comments, “At the end of the war, our men tended to their prayers with great diligence, for they had been saved from the threat of invading armies and free women.  Who is to say which threat gave them the most worry?” (page 243)  As she recognizes the strength of her sex and their potential to truly change their country she accepts that it will be difficult and most likely not occur during her lifetime yet, employing this drive, she gives the reader a great sense of hope and optimism lacking among many of her compatriots.
    Open the pages of Princess and become a part of Sultana’s life.  Travel with her and experience her joys and her sadness.  Know that she will never drive a car, be a citizen, or even leave the country without the permission of her husband.  Yet, understand that she will change the world.  From the imprisonment of her country and her sex, she tells her story with passion, vigor, and heart.  For Saudi women, she is a revolutionary serving as a source of faith and confidence in the confines of her close friends yet for the readers of America she could be inspirational.  For everyone who has questioned women’s value in society, for those who have felt menaced or frustrated with the opposite sex her character and her lessons transfer her fervor and her motivation to the reader.  Although upon closing the pages of Princess leaves the reader with nostalgia having to leave Sultana, one knows that her lessons and her passion will always remain in our hearts.