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Ingrid Law talks about the inspiration for Savvy
S.J. Parris
S.J. Parris writes about her inspiration for Heresy, which masterfully blends true events with fiction into a page-turning murder mystery set on the sixteenth-century Oxford University campus.
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In a letter to his readers, John Hart talks about becoming a writer and the challenges he faced in writing The Last Child.
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A conversation with Adam Haslett, author of Union Atlantic, a deeply affecting portrait of the modern gilded age, the first decade of the twenty-first century.
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   Summary and Book Reviews

Crescent: Summary and book reviews of Crescent by Diana Abu-Jaber, plus links to an excerpt from Crescent and a biography of Diana Abu-Jaber.

Crescent Crescent
by Diana Abu-Jaber
Hardcover: Mar 2003,
352 pages.
Paperback: May 2004,
368 pages.

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Critics' Opinion:   very good
Readers' Rating:  4.5 Stars
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Book Summary

An Arab-American novel as delicious as Like Water for Chocolate.

Praised by critics from The New Yorker to USA Today for her first novel, Arabian Jazz ("an oracular tale that unfurls like gossamer"), Diana Abu-Jaber weaves with spellbinding magic a multidimensional love story set in the Arab-American community of Los Angeles.

Thirty-nine-year-old Sirine, never married, lives with a devoted Iraqi-immigrant uncle and an adoring dog named King Babar. She works as a chef in a Lebanese restaurant, her passions aroused only by the preparation of food—until an unbearably handsome Arabic literature professor starts dropping by for a little home cooking. Falling in love brings Sirene's whole heart to a boil—stirring up memories of her parents and questions about her identity as an Arab American.

Written in a lush, lyrical style reminiscent of The God of Small Things, infused with the flavors and scents of Middle Eastern food, and spiced with history and fable, Crescent is a sensuous love story and a gripping tale of risk and commitment.

Book Reviews


Very Good  Library Journal
Wise, spirited, and evocative, this work offers an ardent look at the human side of political cant.

Very Good  Publishers Weekly
[A] beautifully imagined and timely novel.

Very Good  Booklist
Starred Review. Abu-Jaber's language is miraculous ... It is not possible to stop reading.

Very Good  Kirkus Reviews
A powerful story about the loneliness of exile and the limits of love. An impressive second outing by Abu-Jaber.

Good  Orlando Sentinel
A pleasing hybrid of Like Water for Chocolate and Haroun and the Sea of Stories.

Very Good  The Baltimore Sun - John Muncie
Crescent is a rich, delicious concoction that has you rooting for the star-crossed lovers.

Very Good  Chicago Tribune - Beth Kephart
Radiant, wise and passionate ... a book written by an author who never for an instant relinquished her grip on this willingly enchanted reader.

Very Good  Oregonian - Andrea Spencer
[A] lovely tale ... an urgent mix of Scheherazade-style storytelling and treatise on the loneliness of exile.

Very Good  Vanity Fair
A deliciously romantic romp.

Very Good  San Francisco Chronicle
Abu-Jaber's voluptuous prose features insights into the Arab-American community that are wisely, warmly depicted.

Very Good  Christian Science Monitor
Exquisite ... Readers stuffed on headlines but still hungering for something relevant will enjoy this rich meal.

Author Blurb  Sigrid Nunez
It is a story about how to cook and how to eat, and how to live in the new country. And, like all good novels, it is about how to tell a story.

Author Blurb  Connie May Fowler
Lush, poignant, and searing ... unfolds with all the startling beauty of a hidden garden.

Author Blurb  Sena Jeter Naslund
Abu-Jaber affirms the precious fragility of life, love, family, and the human community in meaningful ways.

Author Blurb  Naomi Shihab Nye
Abu-Jaber is a high-spirited, magnificently graceful storyteller, a poet of deliciously fluted fiction, character, and culture.

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