Status
Available
Publication
Plume (2010), Edition: 1, Paperback, 336 pages
Description
At eighteen, 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 eighteen 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.
User reviews
LibraryThing member absurdeist
Perhaps it sounds mildly unseemly or misogynistic to admit, but I'll be darned if I haven't been interested in starting up my own harem for quite some time, since adolescence actually, but have lacked, unfortunately, the necessary (and pricey) prerequisites to turn such an, admittedly, crude
Jillian Lauren's, Some Girls: My Life in a Harem, gave me lots of great ideas, nevertheless, on how -- and more importantly, how not -- to begin (at least "begin" hypothetically speaking), my harem fantasy enterprise. I'd recommend Some Girls as an excellent resource for any in-the-market, would-be harem owners out there, as it unwittingly itemizes the potential pitfalls and pains-in-the-neck awaiting the prospective harem owner about to embark on, let's face it, a rather tricky-to-justify and, not to mention, illegal, lifestyle venture.
Some Girls: My Life in a Harem was also an inspiring -- at times sordid and a bit twisted (though understandably so) -- story of one brave United States college dropout's riveting escape from a man who makes Hugh Hefner seem a monogamous and faithful family man by comparison, Prince Jefri Bolkiah, and Jillian Lauren's eventual return to freedom. I recommend reading Lauren's mesmerizing memoir whether you dream of owning your own harem some day or not.
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boyhood fantasy into reality; namely, my obtaining a Middle Eastern "sultanship" (if there is such a word) and political connections with big oil and its automatic entourage of bookoo bucks and kidnapped babes. Jillian Lauren's, Some Girls: My Life in a Harem, gave me lots of great ideas, nevertheless, on how -- and more importantly, how not -- to begin (at least "begin" hypothetically speaking), my harem fantasy enterprise. I'd recommend Some Girls as an excellent resource for any in-the-market, would-be harem owners out there, as it unwittingly itemizes the potential pitfalls and pains-in-the-neck awaiting the prospective harem owner about to embark on, let's face it, a rather tricky-to-justify and, not to mention, illegal, lifestyle venture.
Some Girls: My Life in a Harem was also an inspiring -- at times sordid and a bit twisted (though understandably so) -- story of one brave United States college dropout's riveting escape from a man who makes Hugh Hefner seem a monogamous and faithful family man by comparison, Prince Jefri Bolkiah, and Jillian Lauren's eventual return to freedom. I recommend reading Lauren's mesmerizing memoir whether you dream of owning your own harem some day or not.
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LibraryThing member TheLoisLevel
This book isn't as much about Lauren's life in the harem as it is about her coming of age. My take on the whole thing is that life in a harem is pretty boring. She didn't see much of the countries she was in at all...it's kind of sad.... For all of the slow, slow, introspection in most of the book,
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it ends pretty suddenly, and the reader is left unsure what it all means. Show Less
LibraryThing member rbaech
Jill Lauren's book details a fascinating world of the high-class prostitute in the modern harem. At times, her writing meanders around almost too much, but I recognize that there's an almost stream-of-consciousness approach to her writing. I can say that her voice is the most winning part of the
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book, and I came away feeling as though I actually knew here and had sat with her on a couch to drink tea or coffee. Very authentic, very sincere. Show Less
LibraryThing member _Zoe_
I had been thinking about reading this book for a while, but the low ratings deterred me. Eventually, though, I ended up in an out-of-town library, where I read the first chapter and was interested enough that I requested it from my own library when I got home.
So it sat in my huge TBR pile for a
But as her own story came out, I actually found myself rooting for her. She started university at 16 in an attempt to get away from her abusive father, but dropped out after six months, at which point her parents immediately cut off any financial assistance. So the aspiring actress worked as a waitress, then a stripper, and ultimately an escort, before the Brunei opportunity came up. She'd also had many other issues earlier in life: molested at summer camp when she was 12 or 13, anorexic, an occasional drug user.... Her life just sounded unbelievably messed up, though I think that's probably far more common than I'd expect.
Anyway, while I can't remotely imagine making the choices that she did, I also found that I couldn't entirely blame her for them, and I wanted things to work out. It was interesting to read her story at least partially because it was so alien to me. But it was also just fun sometimes to read about the exorbitant wealth of the Sultan's brother, and the experiences of a New Jersey girl on a shopping trip with no spending limit, and things like that. So it's a combination of an informative read and a guilty pleasure, and that combination worked for me. If the basic premise appeals, then I'd recommend giving it a try.
So it sat in my huge TBR pile for a
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week or two, and I picked it up again last night when I was tired and looking for some light non-fiction. And I found myself completely engrossed. I stayed up a bit too late reading last night, and finished the book this morning. The story, while ridiculous, is fascinating. It was initially a bit difficult to relate to the author: she signs up to be a party ornament for a prince in Brunei, figuring that that means she'll be a "quasi-prostitute", and she's fine with that.But as her own story came out, I actually found myself rooting for her. She started university at 16 in an attempt to get away from her abusive father, but dropped out after six months, at which point her parents immediately cut off any financial assistance. So the aspiring actress worked as a waitress, then a stripper, and ultimately an escort, before the Brunei opportunity came up. She'd also had many other issues earlier in life: molested at summer camp when she was 12 or 13, anorexic, an occasional drug user.... Her life just sounded unbelievably messed up, though I think that's probably far more common than I'd expect.
Anyway, while I can't remotely imagine making the choices that she did, I also found that I couldn't entirely blame her for them, and I wanted things to work out. It was interesting to read her story at least partially because it was so alien to me. But it was also just fun sometimes to read about the exorbitant wealth of the Sultan's brother, and the experiences of a New Jersey girl on a shopping trip with no spending limit, and things like that. So it's a combination of an informative read and a guilty pleasure, and that combination worked for me. If the basic premise appeals, then I'd recommend giving it a try.
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LibraryThing member picardyrose
Creepy. What a bizarre way to earn $100,000. And how quickly she got sucked into the culture and started trying to please the prince.
LibraryThing member deadgirl
I bought this book because it was about Brunei, and I really was only interested in the Brunei bits while reading it. But it would've been a short and incomplete book if the author didn't weave in her own story, her background and thoughts and fears. Interesting, though I found the ending less
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satisfying. Show Less
LibraryThing member lahochstetler
At age eighteen Lauren dropped out of NYU, and went to Brunei to join the royal harem. Her duties were to look beautiful at nightly parties, and be sexually available to the sultan's younger brother. In return she received expensive clothes and gifts.
The world of the Brunei royal family is a
Essentially this struck me as a case of adolescent rebellion on a grand scale. The Brunei harem was fairly grotesque. Still, I enjoyed this look into a totally bizarre life. It was disturbing how disposable the women in the harem were. Some lasted weeks, others months. All of them seemed to be chasing a completely unattainable goal- to become one of the royal wives. None of them would.
The world of the Brunei royal family is a
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strange one. Women from all over the world jockey, fight, and manipulate for position within the harem. They live together in communal houses that could rival the cattiest sorority. The women are not allowed to leave the compound unescorted. Essentially this struck me as a case of adolescent rebellion on a grand scale. The Brunei harem was fairly grotesque. Still, I enjoyed this look into a totally bizarre life. It was disturbing how disposable the women in the harem were. Some lasted weeks, others months. All of them seemed to be chasing a completely unattainable goal- to become one of the royal wives. None of them would.
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LibraryThing member jmkeep
I love reading memoirs from sex workers, but I admit that I was disappointed with this book. It had trouble holding my attention, which is very rare for me.
Truthfully, it wasn't the topic matter that disappointed me, and I could even have looked over the bits I found boring such as the endless
I really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't feel connected to the author.
Truthfully, it wasn't the topic matter that disappointed me, and I could even have looked over the bits I found boring such as the endless
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gossiping and listing of things she bought, but it just held no emotion. I'm not entirely sure when she penned the book, as the events take place in 1991 and this book was published in 2010, but it lacked a lot of emotion. It couldn't draw me in because it felt like it was a second hand retelling of what happened. This contrasted with the fact that there was a bunch of meaningless facts about her past that sought to show us what type of life she led but instead just fell flat.I really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't feel connected to the author.
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LibraryThing member Marlene-NL
Finished this yesterday. One word comes to mind about this book. That word is... Honest!
Wow That girl is so honest, In was sometimes shocked but loved it as well.
How she spoke about her father. That was the first thing that surprised me.
Quote: "In Great tradition of Jewish parents, his dearest
Wow. I do not find that a very positive thing about Jewish parents if that is true.
She also wrote that her dad sometimes called her on the phone when he had heard a song and that reminded him of himself! He wanted her then to listen to that song and have the same sentiments, meaning listen to that song and think about HIM!. I think dad was very into himself ;)
Another thing I noticed was her love for difficult words. Well to me they were. ;)
Quote; My family is one of those old Jewish families whose octogenarians are sought out for interviews by ethnohistorians"
Loved that one. What I also loved was her telling about the weird thoughts she had. It turned out I had the same thoughts. lol. Wondering what you would do in a war lke ww2 or in a crisis situation. Everybody always thinks they would be the hero. ;)
Talking about how she loved to watch herself cry. "Sometimes I spent so much time acting the part that I forgot How I was really feeling"
Another sentence that struck a chord was "The diet part that worked out fine. It was the liking myself part that never happened"
"I stuffed any display of weakness or emotion and planned to have my feelings when I got somewhere else. But when I got home I couldn't find the feelings I'd put aside for later"
Okay I'll stop with the quotes.
Another thought after reading. Wondering how the relationship with her parents is now?
She told the whole word she used to be a prostitute! That is very brave but I could not help wondering about her parents.
I highly recommend this book because it is thought provoking and interesting.
Wow That girl is so honest, In was sometimes shocked but loved it as well.
How she spoke about her father. That was the first thing that surprised me.
Quote: "In Great tradition of Jewish parents, his dearest
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belief is that when he is dead, I'll spend the rest of my life regretting my callous behaviour towards him" Wow. I do not find that a very positive thing about Jewish parents if that is true.
She also wrote that her dad sometimes called her on the phone when he had heard a song and that reminded him of himself! He wanted her then to listen to that song and have the same sentiments, meaning listen to that song and think about HIM!. I think dad was very into himself ;)
Another thing I noticed was her love for difficult words. Well to me they were. ;)
Quote; My family is one of those old Jewish families whose octogenarians are sought out for interviews by ethnohistorians"
Loved that one. What I also loved was her telling about the weird thoughts she had. It turned out I had the same thoughts. lol. Wondering what you would do in a war lke ww2 or in a crisis situation. Everybody always thinks they would be the hero. ;)
Talking about how she loved to watch herself cry. "Sometimes I spent so much time acting the part that I forgot How I was really feeling"
Another sentence that struck a chord was "The diet part that worked out fine. It was the liking myself part that never happened"
"I stuffed any display of weakness or emotion and planned to have my feelings when I got somewhere else. But when I got home I couldn't find the feelings I'd put aside for later"
Okay I'll stop with the quotes.
Another thought after reading. Wondering how the relationship with her parents is now?
She told the whole word she used to be a prostitute! That is very brave but I could not help wondering about her parents.
I highly recommend this book because it is thought provoking and interesting.
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LibraryThing member SaxonX
I liked this memoir; I enjoyed her story and I liked her style of writing. I don't think it ended too suddenly as the other reviewer thought, instead I felt she reached a natural and comfortable place at which to conclude her tale. Thought provoking and a captivating read.
LibraryThing member matthew254
Some Girls has received a lot of attention, both positive and negative, for the things I precisely like about it. Amazon's review section is often a fairly reliable source of reviews but this book in particular has a very wide range of critics; some extolling it for the exposé on opulent brothel
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life while others chastise the author for sounding like an entitled, Jersey brat who got by life by her looks. Personally, I think she's a good writer and has a talent for telling her story with both entertaining and introspectively critical qualities. I also don't particularly respect her career decisions. However, I understand that she recently published a novel. Whatever one may think about her, she is, by matter of fact, a former stripper/escort/harem girl, married to the bassist of Weezer, covered in ink, and downright smokin hot. Like other reviewers, I wanted to learn more of her harem life but there's enough to satisfy curiosity. Show Less
LibraryThing member holly_kench
"Some Girls" is the true story of an 18 year old struggling actress, who takes a position in the harem of the Prince of Brunei. It chronicles her upbringing, the choices and paths that led to her decision to become an international prostitute, her time in the harem and her struggle to deal with
This tale was written at a deeper level that I did not expect and is a lovely read. While it may appear as yet another light chick memoir, Lauren has surprisingly more to offer.
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life on her return to the US. The plot and the realities of her life that drive the story come as no surprise. What is surprising, however, is the insight with which she relates her story. It is all the more surprising as this insight is yet contrasted with the remaining defensiveness of a struggling teen and, indeed, a lingering defensiveness for the men whom the reader must determine to hate. Despite this seemingly paradoxical, although somewhat inevitable defensiveness, Lauren clearly and beautifully protrays the darkness of her story, and the story of so many women, not only within the walls of a harem, but also in the wider world. She utilises myths and fairy tales, including those of Antigone, Cinderella and Shahrazad, to depict the truths of these stories and her own, which continue to resinate in the lives of western women today. This tale was written at a deeper level that I did not expect and is a lovely read. While it may appear as yet another light chick memoir, Lauren has surprisingly more to offer.
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LibraryThing member devilish2
Reasonably well written memoir of a girl with a troubled childhood, how she runs from it (rather extremely) and then faces it. Quite voyeuristic.
LibraryThing member Sararush
How does a nice middle class Jewish girl end up living in a harem of (arguably) the most exotic and decadent Prince of our time? Jillian Lauren wraps it up quickly and candidly in her memoir, Some Girls: easy work and the money.
And still this memoir is surprisingly tame and lacking in salacious
And still this memoir is surprisingly tame and lacking in salacious
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details. Lauren is evasive and breezes by the money, sex, and royal gossip. Instead we get a lot of poetic musings and blunt reminders that she is simply a prostitute which makes it hard to become wrapped up in her story. Of course curiosity got the best of me on this one and with only a small amount of shame do I admit--I devoured every page. Come on; its a modern day harem! And Lauren did (thankfully) devoted many pages to the mean girl politics of the mistresses and a few pages to a memorable shopping spree. She also grapples with the issues that may have influenced her choices. If you are interested on the evolution from fledgling actress/stripper to escort to harem girl and then the fallout, pick this one up. Show Less
LibraryThing member pither
An absolutely fascinating look at a modern-day harem. I couldn't put it down, and devoured it in one weekend. Lauren has a very lyrical but clean style that just captures you.
LibraryThing member karenlisa
Some Girls By Jillian Lauren This is the memoir of a young girl who drops out of college and falls into the underworld of NYC. After leaving NYU theater school, Jillian waitresses, strips, works for an escort service and ultimately receives an opportunity to be a party girl in Brunei for a prince,
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in a palace. The brother of the Sultan of Brunei has an extraordinary amount of money and although he has three wives (news reports there may be many more) he has about 40 girlfriends whom attend a party that never ends and get paid well to make it seem like a lot of fun. The sex is less than you would expect because there are so many girls but their freedom is nil and the lifestyle is unimaginable. Jillian is a smart pretty girl who is trying to find out who she is and what she wants out of life. The story is interesting, shocking at times and her writing is good. It's hard to feel sorry for her (not that she wants you to) because she is incredibly aware of her decisions as she makes them. Her story draws a fine line between love, money, freedom and relationships. It becomes hard to tell one from the other. Interesting read. Show Less
LibraryThing member LivelyLady
This is a "memoir" of a woman's experience as an escort in this country and then as a short term as a member of a "harem.," which meant being on call as a hood ornament for a sultan's son in his harem in exchange for lots of money and expensive jewelry. I thought that was called prostitution???
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Anyway, a thread of this adopted woman's life, search and finding of her biological mother is woven throughout. Does this explain her life choices. I don't think so. It was an entertaining read, but I wonder how much is real and how much is fiction. Show Less
LibraryThing member Tangle99
Surprisingly well-written and observant memoir. Highly enjoyable.
LibraryThing member 1983mk
"Some Girls: My life in a harem" by Jillian Lauren is the story of her early life through her eyes. This book explains how a young troubled Jewish girl goes from being a struggling actor/stripper to a call girl in New York. She then takes us on a fascinating journey to the palace of the Prince of
Everyone should read this! At times you will want to cry for hers and at others you will laugh at the stupidity of the male mind. Please read this book. You will not regret it.
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Brunei and back again.Everyone should read this! At times you will want to cry for hers and at others you will laugh at the stupidity of the male mind. Please read this book. You will not regret it.
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LibraryThing member Joyce.Leung
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was not about having a loving husband, or adopting a beautiful baby boy, or finding a happy ending.The Summary
For those who haven’t yet read this book, this contains some mild spoilers.
For those who have read this book, this is slightly biased as it is coloured by my personal opinion
Jill is a stripper. A hooker. A prostitute – however you want to call her. She is constantly down on cash, is an aspiring actress whose only notable role is a cheerleader at a cheap porno flick. After joining an escort agency through one of the other actresses also playing a role in the movie, she is offered a chance to go to Brunei and party for two weeks and get an outrageous amount of money in exchange for entertaining his Royal Highness Prince Jefri Bolkiah.
Whilst there, she gets the prince’s attention and thus extends her stay by another week, another month, another two months. Then she realizes that she misses New York and makes up some excuse about her father being in a life threatening situation and flying home. Again, she extends her stay in New York constantly, and goes through an abortion, a tattoo, and the rest of her money whilst she is there.
Flying back to Brunei, she realizes that she no longer hold the prince’s affections and that, basically, a lot has changed. One of the other American girls there give her the name of an agency and she flies home to find her biological mother.
The Review
I was not that impressed with the story. The plot sounded interesting, yes, but there isn’t actually as much about Brunei as one might expect from the summary. This book is basically about Jillian whining about her life, how she sinks into depression if her scenery doesn’t change every two months and how her boyfriend didn’t care enough for her.
This book would’ve gotten two, three stars if everything in it weren’t true. The fact that she managed to find the courage within herself to write this book makes me add at least one star to my rating – after all, in fiction you can be endlessly creative, you can write about minuscule detail, but in non-fiction, or rather, in autobiographical memoirs, all you can write is what you know, what you remember.
I think is book is a good book – it is great if you look at it from the point of a memoir, but not so good if you look at it as a book you’re reading. It’s really brave of Jillian Lauren to lay her life bare before thousands, if not millions of readers about the globe, and, well, what can I say now except that I wish her husband, son and her a good life?
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Awards
Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year (Nonfiction — 2010)
Language
Original publication date
2010-04-27
Physical description
336 p.; 7.94 inches
ISBN
0452296315 / 9780452296312
Local notes
autobiography