When We Get Behind Closed Doors

After its initial publication in Beirut, Rajaa Alsanea's novel Girls of Riyadh caused a great deal of protest in her native Saudia Arabia. It seems many didn't like her book's depiction of women's lives and loves behind the veil. But in the end the book was made available in the kingdom, and the result was not fire and brimstone, but instead more books.

Reports Reuters: "Saudi Arabia's literary output doubled in 2006, with half of the authors women, and publishing industry insiders suggest the growing interest is partly due to Alsanea's book, which centers on four women from affluent homes who must navigate a minefield of rules and taboos on sex, marriage and social caste to get and keep their men."

Granted, only 50 books were published in the whole of Saudia Arabia last year. Most of the country's authors publish abroad, rather than face the government's censorship machinery.--David E