KDL Recommends

Crescent: A Novel

ISBN: 039305747X

Title: Crescent: A Novel

Author: Diana Abu-Jaber

KDL Description:

Living with an Iraqi immigrant uncle and devoted dog, and working as a chef in a Lebanese restaurant, 39-year-old Sirine finds her life turned upside down by a handsome Arabic literature professor.

Amazon Description:

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.