Driving the Saudis

A Chauffeur's Tale of the World's Richest Princesses (plus Their Servants, Nannies, and One Royal Hairdresser)

By: Jayne Amelia Larson

Narrated by: Jayne Amelia Larson

After more than a decade of working in Hollywood, actress Jayne Amelia Larson found herself out of luck, out of work, and out of prospects. Without telling her friends or family, she took a job as a limousine driver, thinking that the work might be a good way to dig out of debt while meeting A-list celebrities and important movie moguls. When she got hired to drive for the Saudi royal family vacationing in Beverly Hills, Larson thought she’d been handed the golden ticket. She’d heard stories of the Saudis giving $20,000 tips and Rolex watches to their drivers. But when the family arrived at LAX with millions of dollars in cash, Larson realized that she might be in for the ride of her life.

With awestruck humor and deep compassion, she describes her eye-opening adventures as the only female in a detail of over 40 assigned to drive a beautiful Saudi princess, her family, and their extensive entourage. To be a good chauffeur means to be a “fly on the wall”, to never speak unless spoken to, to never ask questions, to allow people to forget that you are there. The nature of the employment - Larson was on call 24 hours a day and 7 days a week - and the fact that she was the only female driver gave her an up close and personal view of one of the most closely guarded monarchies in the world, a culture of great intrigue and contradiction, and of unimaginable wealth.

The Saudis traveled large: They brought furniture, Persian rugs, Limoges china, lustrous silver serving trays, and extraordinary coffees and teas from around the world. The family and their entourage stayed at several luxury hotels, occupying whole floors of each. Each day the royal women spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on plastic surgery and mega-shopping sprees on Rodeo Drive. Even the tea setup had its very own hotel room, while the servants were crammed together on rollaway beds in just a few small rooms down the hall.

Larson witnessed plenty of drama: hundreds of hours of cosmetic surgery recovery, the purchasing of Hermes Birkin bags of every color, roiling battles among the upper-echelon entourage members all jockeying for a better position in the palace hierarchy, and the total disregard that most of the royal entourage had for their exhausted staff. But Driving the Saudis also reveals how Larson grew to understand the complicated nuances of a society whose strict customs remain intact even across continents. She saw the intimate bond that connected the royals with their servants and nannies; she befriended the young North African servant girls, who supported whole families back home by working night and day for the royals but were not permitted to hold their own passports lest they try to flee. While experiencing a life-changing “behind the veil” glimpse into Saudi culture, Larson ultimately discovers that we’re all very much the same everywhere - the forces that corrupt us, make us desperate, and make us human are surprisingly universal.

©2012 Jayne Amelia Larson (P)2013 Audible Inc.

Too much about the author

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I thought this book would be an unbiased inside look at the lives of Saudi royal families. Boy was I wrong. What should have been a book about an interesting expose turned out to be the shameless self-aggrandizing autobiography of a failed Hollywood actress. Chapter two is literally all about her childhood, what schools she went to, how many plays she starred in, what celebrities she has met and experiences on various film sets. Nothing about the Saudis. In further chapters I learned all about her relationship with her boyfriend, her love of ritualistic vaginal hair removal, that time when a super hot Beverly Hills police officer checked out her butt and her incessant love of power bars. There was even an entire chapter where she explained what SHE would do if she had millions of dollars. Wow... That's some inciteful speculation Jayne. What little bit the author did write about the Saudis came off racist as she argued with their wishes and imitated their accents. I really can't believe this book made it to publication. I wish one of the other chauffeurs would publish their account with the Saudi royals. This one was all about the author.

Has Driving the Saudis turned you off from other books in this genre?

no

Which character – as performed by Jayne Amelia Larson – was your favorite?

yikes, they all came off a bit racist.

Did Driving the Saudis inspire you to do anything?

Not to talk too much about myself in social environments

Should’ve been two books

This should’ve been two different books. A single memoir, and then a book strictly about the Saudi experience. The author tells a few too many personal stories, and pats herself on the back a little too much. I didn’t particularly enjoy those parts, but hadn’t been in a separate book, I probably still would’ve read it. However those parts take away from the overall experience of the book. Overall I liked it, but I feel like it could’ve been improved.

Interesting & delightful glimpse

I loved reading about the families the author chauffeured. Her stories gave me a peek at the private world of personal drivers and interaction with her Saudi families

Better than I imagined

What a true story of unbelievable wealth and a foreign desire for the good life in America. I truly enjoyed the easy listening and non-stop adventures in this book. A first hand view of what it is like to be Saudi princess with dozens of people at your beck and call. Fascinating.

Really fascinating memoir

I read this in a single sitting. The author tells the story of the women and girls of the Saudi royal family and their deeply troubling limitations on options and opportunities as females, despite their unfathomable wealth. The book made me feel extremely grateful as a young woman to have been born in the USA. It also made me feel troubled as our country has been a crucial ally to Saudi Arabia, and in so doing, we are all complicit in the brutal oppression and repression by the male rulers of the Saudi Kingdom of women and girls. This was not the first time I've reflected on the US-Saudi relationship and its moral failings, but it provided a unique perspective and was exceedingly entertaining in addition to honestly informative. Highly recommend.

Thoroughly enjoyed!!

As an expat living in Saudi and having worked for a royal family, I could absolutely relate to this story. I so enjoyed hearing the "other" side of the Family and how they behaved in the States. Well done Jayne. I bought the ebook and audiobook to make up for the small tip.

Incredible book with great reader!

This book is phenomenal I finished it in two days. I learned so much about the Middle Eastern culture, and the insane conspicuous consumption. However, there is so much more to the book than just that. If you’re looking for a very entertaining audible this is it!

3 NOTEs..!

1. Many thanks for the book + the narration.
2. Looks like a culture shock...
3. (General) Please 🙏 learn about islam from its resources..

Just ok

I'm sure part of my lower rating has to do with my expectations more than the actual quality of the book but it just seemed to skim the surface. It had details, sure, but when the story was finished, I didn't get the sense of awe that I expected to feel after hearing of being so close to such immense wealth.

The narrator has a nice voice but is not the best reader. Plus, her voice seemed disconnected from the story. There were times when the story's words sounded hip and energetic but the voice reading it sounded soft and smooth. Just a disconnect.

Overall, it wasn't exactly boring but it also wasn't wildly entertaining.

Learned alot

I really liked this book. The narration was very enjoyable. Great voice by the narrator.