Behind Palace Walls: In the service of a Saudi princess Paperback – April 3, 2014

I believe her. Lately, the media has gotten wind of stories of the foreign staff of the Saudi Royal family being mistreated. A Kenyan servant was kept against her will by a Saudi Princess when the princess was visiting the United States. I had been told that Filipinas have been mistreated in the Middle East when they take jobs there but this is the first time I see detailed documentation of the abuse. This book proves that some Saudi women also participate the in the degradation of their own society. The treatment of the cats is something that I had never heard before. As an individual who is an owner of two cats I find the treatment of those animals intolerable. Cay has opened my eyes and I will have to delve deeper (as best as I can) to better understand Saudi culture, especially the seedy underbelly that is hidden under "tolerance". An excellent read.

I was shocked, but not surprised, at the abuse of both animal and humankind in general and the enslavement of foreigners in particular. The abusers assuage the guilt and low self esteem by tossing trinckets at their victims who seem to be unable to count on help from police or good samaritans . I think this treatment isn't normal but is so often rewarded from the top down in dictatorships around the world. This lady was lucky to have escaped, and those poor kitties she cared for. I wonder what happened to the others. I would like to gave known how the agency involved responded. I wish we poor folk would stop running to these countries to help because it tells the world that no behavior is intolerable. Their own people are so poor (so the book) as we tend to think all Arabians are super rich when the wealth is gobbled up by one extended clan and their religious terrorists. I had no idea the people carried documents recording so many aspects of their lives!

The storyline was intriguing but it just wasn't written well enough. The characters were not fleshed out and did not come alive on the pages of the book. Even the descriptions of food, of clothes, of living situation was lacking. The ending jumped to where Cay could not take living there with Little explanation. I would have liked to know so much more.

Interesting....but too drawn out

Well written personal account of experience serving a spoilt Saudi princess. World we not accustomed to...the lifestyle and extravagance far beyond how normal people live.tThe shocking treatment of servants and animals I found quite disturbing but the beautiful love story playing out balances the mood. A most enjoyable read.

Very good book! I've read some books about the life of woman in the Middle East but this book gave a look into the life of a Saudi Arabian princess from the Royal family & it was an eye opener to me. I never thought about all the the training & amount of $$$ someone can make going to work for a Saudi princess. There is so much secrecy, security & privilege around the Saudi's, it just shows what money can buy. It also looks at the other side of that life & what a trained employee & one who manages the princesses life goes through on a day to day basis. It really gives you a bird's eye view into that amazing but crazy life.

Sorry but this book was weak.Storyline is so watered down and weakly written with so many cliches, nothing new. Boring and waste of money

Enjoyable, couldn't wait to see what happens next, but seemed to have a pattern going through story, each day was pretty much the same in the story