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Crescent by Diana Abu-Jaber — book cover

Crescent

by Diana Abu-Jaber
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Overview

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

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.

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.

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.

Synopsis

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

About the Author, Diana Abu-Jaber

Diana Abu-Jaber is the author of Crescent, Arabian Jazz, and The Language of Baklava. She divides her time between Portland, Oregon, and Miami, Florida.

Reviews

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Editorials

Chicago Tribune

“Radiant, wise and passionate...a book written by an author who never for an instant relinquished her grip on this willingly enchanted reader.”— Beth Kephart

Christian Science Monitor

“Exquisite...Readers stuffed on headlines but still hungering for something relevant will enjoy this rich meal.”

Orlando Sentinel

“A pleasing hybrid of Like Water for Chocolate and Haroun and the Sea of Stories.

The Baltimore Sun

Crescent is a rich, delicious concoction that has you rooting for the star-crossed lovers.”— John Muncie

Beth Kephart - Chicago Tribune

“Radiant, wise and passionate...a book written by an author who never for an instant relinquished her grip on this willingly enchanted reader.”

Beth Kephart - Book Magazine

“Gorgeously written and deeply imagined, this novel is both a fable and a plea—a book that weaves a hypnotic, lasting spell.”

Andrea Spencer - Oregonian

“[A] lovely tale...an urgent mix of Scheherazade-style storytelling and treatise on the loneliness of exile.”

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

“Please read this book. Diana Abu-Jaber is a high-spirited, magnificently graceful storyteller, a poet of deliciously fluted fiction, character, and culture, and her work is needed now, now, now.”

Andria Spencer - Oregonian

“A bewitching and timely novel about Iraq, love and the loneliness of exile....a novel at once timely and timeless.”

John Muncie - The Baltimore Sun

Crescent is a rich, delicious concoction that has you rooting for the star-crossed lovers.”

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.”

Whitney Otto

“Romantic, whimsical and wonderful in every way, being both sensuous and smart. I want to hang out all day at Nadia's Cafe.”

Oregonian

“A bewitching and timely novel about Iraq, love and the loneliness of exile....a novel at once timely and timeless.”— Andria Spencer

Booklist

“Starred Review. Abu-Jaber's language is miraculous....It is not possible to stop reading.”

The Nation

“A story that unfolds beautifully, as lightly and naturally as a roll of silk.”

Vanity Fair

“A deliciously romantic romp.”

Book Magazine

“Gorgeously written and deeply imagined, this novel is both a fable and a plea—a book that weaves a hypnotic, lasting spell.”— Beth Kephart

Book Details

Published
May 1, 2004
Publisher
Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Pages
398
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780393325546

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