Some Girls

My Life in a Harem

De: Jillian Lauren

Narrado por: Tavia Gilbert

A jaw-dropping story of how a girl from the suburbs ends up in a prince's harem, and emerges from the secret Xanadu both richer and wiser.

At 18, Jillian Lauren was an NYU theater school dropout with a tip about an upcoming audition. The "casting director" told her that a rich businessman in Singapore would pay pretty American girls $20,000 if they stayed for two weeks to spice up his parties.

Soon, Jillian was on a plane to Borneo, where she would spend the next 18 months in the harem of Prince Jefri Bolkiah, youngest brother of the Sultan of Brunei, leaving behind her gritty East Village apartment for a palace with rugs laced with gold and trading her band of artist friends for a coterie of backstabbing beauties.

More than just a sexy read set in an exotic land, Some Girls is also the story of how a rebellious teen found herself - and the courage to meet her birth mother and eventually adopt a baby boy.

Click here to listen to expert sex writer and podcaster Susie Bright’s interview with Jillian Lauren.©2010 Jillian Lauren (P)2010 Tantor

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Lauren... is a deft storyteller, imparting equal parts poignant reflection and wisdom into her enlightening book. A gritty, melancholy memoir leavened by the author's amiable, engrossing narrative tenor." ( Kirkus Reviews)

"While the surprising and exotic subject matter is sure to pique interest, Lauren’s graceful, introspective prose lifts her unusual memoir far above the level of mere titillation." ( Booklist)

So much potential

First, I really wish the author would have read the story herself. The narrator's voice didn't seem to match the main character. Frankly, the narrator's annunciation drove me nuts. It was way too precise and took me away from the story at times. I heard the author speak on a podcast and she seemed much more down to earth and had a sense of humor.

Most people picking up this book probably want to hear all about the harem, as did I. But it would have been nice to hear more about WHY the author got into sex work. She glosses over details that would have helped readers understand and empathize with the path she chose. Would have made for a much more engaging story.

But overall, the story was good and at times, exciting. Good summer read.

very enjoyable thanks for sharing your story!

good read, I'll definitely recommend the download. I got lost a couple times on the transition maybe smooth that out the only criticism I have. all in all, liked it.

A great listen

Not classic literature, but a very engaging story, well narrated. I hated it when the story ended!

GREAT!

I really enjoyed listening to this book! It was interesting the entire time and the woman that narrated. I feel narrated perfectly! Good read/listen. I definitely recommend!! 👍🏻

Not what you think

This is a masterpiece in disguise. A great listen and well worth the time. You go through the emotions with the narrator and feel the rollercoaster ride along with the characters.

Really interesting story

Would you listen to Some Girls again? Why?

I found this memoir sad and at times hard to listen to. But it was wonderful at the same time! I'm so glad Jillian Lauren had the strength to write this and share her story with the world. Thank you!

What about Tavia Gilbert’s performance did you like?

The narrator's voice was really well matched to the voice of the story. It makes a huge difference when listening. Great job!

Real, Good Read

It was well performed and a great read. The east coast accents were especially well-done, really set a apart the characters.

Expected better...

Would you try another book from Jillian Lauren and/or Tavia Gilbert?

Probably not.

What could Jillian Lauren have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I swear my friend Crazy Jennie told me this exact same story about being solicited to go to a harem in the Middle East and all about white slavery when we were in college in 1990 - so many of her details sound like Jillian's details and it makes me wonder how much of the book was fictionalized.

Which character – as performed by Tavia Gilbert – was your favorite?

The voice actresses performance was great!

Do you think Some Girls needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I'd like to see something that was a little less fictional.

Salacious and also deeply human

I don't know how everyone I admire was once a sex worker, but here we are. There seems to be a subset of creative, interesting, smart Gen X women (Courtney Love, Diablo Cody, Kathleen Hanna) who owned lucite shoes during their salad days, and can spin an incredible yarn. Some Girls is absolutely about being in a harem, but that's also a reductive description. It's about how one finds oneself there, about how ones circumstances lead you to make choices. Some Girls follows Lauren's redemptive journey navigating the literal world as a teenager (!) after every single person who supposedly loved her failed her in some fundamental way. It's Crazy Rich Asians meets Candy Girl meets Catcher in the Rye. 5 stars, no notes.

Eat, Pray, Love for "naughty" girls

Intriguing story, well told. My favorite kind of book is nonfiction that reads like a novel, and this fits that bill beautifully. I compare Jillian Lauren's memoir to Elizabeth Gilbert's because in both cases there is a lot of introspection and what you might call excessive navel-gazing (to some extent this is what good memoirs are supposed to do). Both are about gutsy, adventurous women, and both women are exceptionally good writers. Personally, I can relate to the Some Girls story of a young woman's foray into the world of high-class sex trade than Gilbert's story of a year of celibate meditation. Kudos to Lauren for her courage. She presents the complexities of her experience both in the sex trade in New York and in a Harem in Brunei in a way that makes the gray areas stand out - the temptation for many people would be to either glamorize this experience or render it all 100% evil.