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
Library Journal
Wise, spirited, and evocative, this work offers an ardent look at the human side of political cant.
Publishers Weekly
[A] beautifully imagined and timely novel.
Booklist
Starred Review. Abu-Jaber's language is miraculous ... It is not possible to stop reading.
Kirkus Reviews
A powerful story about the loneliness of exile and the limits of love. An impressive second outing by Abu-Jaber.
Orlando Sentinel
A pleasing hybrid of Like Water for Chocolate and Haroun and the Sea of Stories.
The Baltimore Sun - John Muncie Crescent is a rich, delicious concoction that has you rooting for the star-crossed lovers.
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.
Oregonian - Andrea Spencer
[A] lovely tale ... an urgent mix of Scheherazade-style storytelling and treatise on the loneliness of exile.
Vanity Fair
A deliciously romantic romp.
San Francisco Chronicle
Abu-Jaber's voluptuous prose features insights into the Arab-American community that are wisely, warmly depicted.
Christian Science Monitor
Exquisite ... Readers stuffed on headlines but still hungering for something relevant will enjoy this rich meal.
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.
Connie May Fowler
Lush, poignant, and searing ... unfolds with all the startling beauty of a hidden garden.
Sena Jeter Naslund
Abu-Jaber affirms the precious fragility of life, love, family, and the human community in meaningful ways.
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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Crescent
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