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"This oracular first novel, which unfurls like gossamer [has] characters of a depth seldom found in a debut."—The New Yorker
In Diana Abu-Jaber's "impressive, entertaining" (Chicago Tribune) first novel, a small, poor-white community in upstate New York becomes home to the transplanted Jordanian family of Matussem Ramoud: his grown daughters, Jemorah and Melvina; his sister Fatima; and her husband, Zaeed. The widower Matuseem loves American jazz, kitschy lawn ornaments, and, of course, his daughters. Fatima is obsessed with seeing her nieces married—Jemorah is nearly thirty! Supernurse Melvina is firmly committed to her work, but Jemorah is ambivalent about her identity and role. Is she Arab? Is she American? Should she marry and, if so, whom? Winner of the Oregon Book Award and finalist for the National PEN/Hemingway Award, Arabian Jazz is "a joy to read.... You will be tempted to read passages out loud. And you should" (Boston Globe). USA Today praises Abu-Jaber's "gift for dialogue...her Arab-American rings musically, and hilariously, true."
Diana Abu-Jaber is the award-winning author of Origin, Crescent, Arabian Jazz, and The Language of Baklava. Her writing has appeared in Good Housekeeping, Ms., Salon, Vogue, Gourmet, the New York Times, The Nation, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. She divides her time between Coral Gables, Florida, and Portland, Oregon.
Arabian Jazz is a look at life through the eyes of an almost thirty year-old Arabian/American woman searching for identity.
Diana Abu-Jaber writes of what it means to be Arabic, American, an immigrant, a daughter, and a woman trying to find her sense of place in the world and in an often-kooky family. This is done with humor, heart, and breath-stopping prose that are so lovely you will find yourself re-reading passages again and again to hear the rhythm of her language.
I think everyone has an Auntie Fatima, no matter which culture you come from. And I wish I had a Nassir in mine.
Like Abu-Jaber's other novels, she transports you into another culture. Her words are poetic and thought-provoking. It is a beautiful experience to read her writing.
Victoria Allman
author of: SEAsoned: A Chef's Journey with Her Captain
Overview
"This oracular first novel, which unfurls like gossamer [has] characters of a depth seldom found in a debut."—The New Yorker
In Diana Abu-Jaber's "impressive, entertaining" (Chicago Tribune) first novel, a small, poor-white community in upstate New York becomes home to the transplanted Jordanian family of Matussem Ramoud: his grown daughters, Jemorah and Melvina; his sister Fatima; and her husband, Zaeed. The widower Matuseem loves American jazz, kitschy lawn ornaments, and, of ...