Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Sep 2023
240 pages
Genre: Short Stories
Paperback Original.
Publication Information
A sharp, tender, and uproariously funny portrait of the lives of Arab American community members in Dearborn, Michigan.
Spanning several decades, Ghassan Zeineddine's debut collection examines the diverse range and complexities of the Arab American community in Dearborn, Michigan. In ten tragicomic stories, Zeineddine explores themes of identity, generational conflicts, war trauma, migration, sexuality, queerness, home and belonging, and more.
In Dearborn, a father teaches his son how to cheat the IRS and hide their cash earnings inside of frozen chickens. Tensions heighten within a close-knit group of couples when a mysterious man begins to frequent the local gym pool, dressed in Speedos printed with nostalgic images of Lebanon. And a failed stage actor attempts to drive a young Lebanese man with ambitions of becoming a Hollywood action hero to LA, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have other plans.
By turns wildly funny, incisive, and deeply moving, Dearborn introduces readers to an arresting new voice in contemporary fiction and invites us all to consider what it means to be part of a place and community, and how it is that we help one another survive.
"Stories full of humor and warmth about an Arab American community. Inspiring... . Masterfully told... . What Zeineddine can do with a simple storyline and a few pages is a thing of wonder. A fantastic collection heralding the voice of a major new writer."
―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Zeineddine's striking debut collection details an endearing cast living in the Arab American community in Dearborn, Mich...Each story strikes a chord, and Zeineddine is adept at finding different angles to engage the collection's themes of identity, race, and gender. This genuine offering speaks as much to the heart as the head." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Stirring... . sharply observed."
―Booklist (starred review)
"Fresh, exciting, and as American as it gets."
―Good Housekeeping, a Best Book of Fall
"A nuanced exploration into all aspects of a community... . Reading this collection is an eye-opening experience for those who only encountered these kinds of characters in mainstream American media."
―Debutiful, a Most Anticipated Book of 2023
"A razor sharp look into identity, migration and inherited trauma... . these tales are at times hilarious, but also heartening as they explore the complex and colorful lives of a range of characters."
―She Reads
"Dearborn is a charming, insightful collection of 10 stories with a delightful, comic edge, exploring the distinct experiences of Arab Americans who have made a home in the midwestern United States."
―Shelf Awareness
"Zeineddine's eye for unusual, often surreal detail enables him to construct unique narratives... . Arab, not, or not really, here are true individuals seeking ways to express their identity against and across resistant geographic and cultural reference points."
―The Markaz Review
This information about Dearborn was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Ghassan Zeineddine was born in Washington, DC, and raised in the Middle East. He is an assistant professor of creative writing at Oberlin College, and co-editor of the creative nonfiction anthology Hadha Baladuna: Arab American Narratives of Boundary and Belonging. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Ohio.
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