| Author: |
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Diana Abu-Jaber
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| Title: |
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The Language of Baklava: A Memoir |
| Moochable copies: |
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No copies available |
| Amazon suggests: |
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| Recommended: |
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| Topics: |
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| Published in: |
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English |
| Binding: |
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Hardcover |
| Pages: |
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352 |
| Date: |
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2005-03-15 |
| ISBN: |
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0375423044 |
| Publisher: |
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Pantheon |
| Weight: |
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1.1 pounds |
| Size: |
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1.4 x 5.7 x 8.3 inches |
| Edition: |
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1st |
Amazon prices: |
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| Previous givers: |
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2 Kat (USA: CA), Reader71 (USA: NY) |
| Previous moochers: |
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2 Valerie (USA: CA), Vincent Broman (USA: CA) |
| Wishlists: |
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| Description: |
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Product Description
From the acclaimed author of Crescent, called “radiant, wise, and passionate” by the Chicago Tribune, here is a vibrant, humorous memoir of growing up with a gregarious Jordanian father who loved to cook. Diana Abu-Jaber weaves the story of her life in upstate New York and in Jordan around vividly remembered meals: everything from Lake Ontario shish kabob cookouts with her Arab-American cousins to goat stew feasts under a Bedouin tent in the desert. These sensuously evoked meals in turn illuminate the two cultures of Diana’s childhood–American and Jordanian–and the
richness and difficulty of straddling both. They also bring her wonderfully eccentric family to life, most memorably her imperious American grandmother and her impractical, hotheaded, displaced immigrant father, who, like many an immigrant before him, cooked to remember the place he came from and to pass that connection on to his children.
As she does in her fiction, Diana draws us in with her exquisite insight and compassion, and with her amazing talent for describing food and the myriad pleasures and adventures associated with cooking and eating. Each chapter contains mouthwatering recipes for many of the dishes described, from her Middle Eastern grandmother’s Mad Genius Knaffea to her American grandmother’s Easy Roast Beef, to her aunt Aya’s Poetic Baklava. The Language of Baklava gives us the chance not only to grow up alongside Diana, but also to share meals with her every step of the way–unforgettable feasts that teach her, and us, as much about iden-tity, love, and family as they do about food.
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| Reviews: |
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Reader71 (USA: NY) (2017/01/07):
My librarything book review: The Language of Baklava pulls and immerses readers from the beginning. While Diana's father and uncles are described as loud, overbearing and demanding, we learn how kind, generous and thoughtful most of them can be. While the women are pictured as compliant and uncomplaining, Diana ensures we see just how capable, smart and independent they are. The story of Abu-Jaber's father is the experience of many immigrant families in the US. Missing home and family, the resulting disorientation, and sadly the bias, disrespect or outright discrimination from Americans for their different language, dress and customs. Adult immigrants also suffer an emotional disconnect as their children grow and assimilate into American culture. Diana's life is enriched by briefly living in Jordan when her father fears he is losing his children to American culture. It helps her understand him better and accept her Jordanian heritage. The Language of Baklava is special in its love of family, cooking, serving and eating Jordanian foods, and visiting many relatives especially Auntie Aya who knows best how to mend fences between family members. Diana's mother's mother, Gram is priceless. She is a proud but historically and culturally ignorant American especially during a trip to a Chinese restaurant. Believing she is worldly and sophisticated, she behaves firtatiously, and by misunderstanding dramatic differences in Chinese and Japanese history /culture she embarrasses Diana big time. An excellent, funny, sad and moving read.
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| URL: |
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http://bookmooch.com/0375423044 |
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