⋙ [PDF] Crescent Diana AbuJaber 9780330413275 Books

Crescent Diana AbuJaber 9780330413275 Books

Download As PDF : Crescent Diana AbuJaber 9780330413275 Books

Crescent Diana AbuJaber 9780330413275 Books

I read this novel for my reading group; we all loved it. Sirine, an Arab American woman, cooks in a cafe in Los Angeles frequented by a variety of exiles and lost souls; there she meets Hanif, a refugee from Iraq, and they fall in love. At the same time, Sirine's uncle tells a story "without a moral" about a man who drowns, over and over, wandering the world in search of home. These two threads twine together, so the story creates layer on layer of emotional value and meaning. The writing is lovely, precise and vivid. The cafe, full of smells and tastes, is itself like a tiny visit to the Middle East. By the end, I was dying for a taste of falafel.


Tags : Crescent [Diana Abu-Jaber] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Sirine is thirty-nine and a breathtaking golden-haired beauty. Half-Iraqi and half-American, she was raised in Los Angeles by her Iraqi-born uncle -- a professor at the local university and an endless source of fabulous tales of jinns,Diana Abu-Jaber,Crescent,Picador,0330413279,Cookery, Iraqi - Fiction,Iraqis - California - Los Angeles - Fiction,Love stories - gsafd,Fiction General,General & Literary Fiction,Modern & contemporary fiction,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945),Modern fiction,Fiction

Crescent Diana AbuJaber 9780330413275 Books Reviews

I almost wish I never finished it. Abu-jaber weaves two stories together that just keep you turning the pages. I appreciate the historical pieces. I dont know what to say about this novel except to read it, if you aren't already in love with Arab cultures, you will be by the end of the book.
This is a wonderful book, beautifully written and soulful, read this after having a delicious home-cooked meal, and you will be able to really savor the words. You will not understand love and food the same way again. I read this in high school, and was so happy to come across it online after so many years, of course I had to buy it!
smell the places she wrote about. Her characters reminded me friends long gone. She writes like an Arab-beautiful, poignant but with a sadness. I would read anything she writes.
I can't recall the last time a book stayed with me well after it was finished. The characters are haunting me still.
I love, love this book. Having worked with a range of refugees, including Iraqi and Iranian, this really brings back those experiences, characters, and of course the food and hospitality. I picked this up for a quick read the other evening and somehow two hours passed by. Confession I think I have a crush on Hanif.
This was an excellent find.
Are you a foodie? Ever been in love? Enjoy a good yarn? Intrigued by exotic cultures? Do you fancy good poetry? Want to be moved? READ CRESCENT. You will be smitten and spiced and wooed and enraptured by the spell of a masterful storyteller and literary artist.

After finishing this book, I wanted to shout from the rooftops-"Everyone--stop what you are doing--read Crescent! Your life will be enriched for the experience." Abu-Jaber cooks with amazingly lyrical and unselfconscious metaphors. Without cliché, she stirs you into her characters' lives, serves up the smell of cardamom-spiced coffee, lentils and onions, tabouli-and dips you in the complexities of lust and love and adventure and hope.

Meanwhile, the layers of her story are like the complex layers of a great dish. Beyond the protagonist, Sirine's story, there is her love's story, and there are the stories of those around them both. At the same time, Sirine's beloved uncle and father-surrogate spins an Arabian-nights-style epic of mermaids and sirens and jinns and the Mother of All Fish, and oh yeah, Omar Sharif. The uncle's story slides in and out of the current story, and they each cast light on the other. Oh, it's all too complicated and juicy and fun to do justice by explaining it. Sounds chaotic, but in fact, Crescent makes brilliant, colorful good sense.

After this glorious feast of a book, you will be satisfied and happy. And enlightened a little about Middle-Eastern culture. It made me want to cook! And to love more completely. Thank you, Diana Abu-Jaber, for creating this work of love and for serving it up for our enjoyment.
I was intrigued by a newspaper review of Crescent while preoccupied with events happening in the Middle-East, and so I thought I'd try this book out for some insight. Crescent is very much akin to sitting down day after day in a local Middle-Eastern cafe and eavesdropping on a different culture and world. Through Sirine, a cook at Um Nadia's cafe in her late 30's, we smell, taste, and experience her daily life in Los Angeles. Sirine isn't all that in touch with her Iraqi heritage, but throughout the novel she develops a love interest with a university graduate student named Han who tells her all about modern day Iraq. Other characters in Sirine's life, especially her lovable Uncle who creates a fantastic fairy-tale straight out of Arabian Nights which mysteriously echo's Sirine's life, contribute to her burgeoning interest in her heritage. All the while, she cooks up wonderfully aromatic, delicious food that brings everyone together. There is a unique level of passionate discussion and debate about poetry, politics, and daily life among these people which creates an intimate atmosphere and sense of pride in their cultural heritage. One of Abu-Jaber's characters at one point mentions Mafouz, an Egyptian writer, and so I was encouraged to find a copy of his "Cairo Triology", which I plan on reading. Sirine's search for love and identity amidst the backdrop of modern day Los Angeles is at times difficult, sad and lonely, but often humerous and always passionate. Surely, while reading Crescent you will find yourself sipping hot coffee and dining at your favorite local Middle-Eastern cafe, and rooting for Sirine to find fulfillment in the end.
I read this novel for my reading group; we all loved it. Sirine, an Arab American woman, cooks in a cafe in Los Angeles frequented by a variety of exiles and lost souls; there she meets Hanif, a refugee from Iraq, and they fall in love. At the same time, Sirine's uncle tells a story "without a moral" about a man who drowns, over and over, wandering the world in search of home. These two threads twine together, so the story creates layer on layer of emotional value and meaning. The writing is lovely, precise and vivid. The cafe, full of smells and tastes, is itself like a tiny visit to the Middle East. By the end, I was dying for a taste of falafel.