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"During the intifada. We don't talk about it. The boys with the stones, yes, we talk about them. But not the girls." She assured him that Rita stayed busy..... Then she returned the conversation to Ibn Hanna's wedding, which was coming up, and to life in America, and how had his people really elected that terrible casino owner as president. Didn't Americans know gambling was haram?

"The fine arts are always underappreciated." He sighs. "It's a modern tragedy, really."
"Sure." I say it curtly because I'm thinking how that's not a tragedy. Not really. A tragedy is a double homicide. Or a murder-suicide. Or a pileup on 695 when there are kids in the car. That's tragic...

WOW. I'm trying to remember the last time I read an interconnected series of stories about the perspective of characters whose lives differ greatly from my own: immigrants, children of immigrants, Palestinians; and yet felt so effortlessly connected to their stories, their lives, their hopes and heartbreak, empathizing with how they could and could not relate to their family, their culture, the decisions of the older generation. 1/?

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Loved this collection of interlinked short stories about Palestinian families and their descendants, living in the US.

I agree @arlenefinnigan - it was sometimes difficult to follow the familial links between the stories on audio but it didn‘t detract from my overall appreciation of the book.

This is an excellent collection of intertwined short stories about a Palestinian community in Baltimore. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I'd read it in print, as it was a bit difficult to keep up with who was related to who on audiobook, but I found the family dynamics really interesting.

A series of lightly interconnected stories of Arab Americans. I enjoyed the different perspectives, though it was hard not to get frustrated with the very traditional attitude of some of the parents...which means the writing was evocative. I loved that each story featured a woman breaking from societal pressures despite the consequences.

#1 read this year! I‘m not usually a fan of short stories because they always seem to leave me wanting more, but these short stories hit different. Each story is a different POV, but each is Palestinian and living in Baltimore, so the characters tie together. Most stories revolve around culture, the older generation favoring Palestinian, the younger American. I loved getting that glimpse into important events in their lives.

Next up

Litsy, I have been MIA for two months, and I'm not really sure why. I'll never be able to catch up and review the books I've read during my absence, but hopefully, I'll consistently stick around for the rest of the year.

Have I missed anything exciting? What have y'all been reading?

Here are some of my recent and current reads. The tagged book, Behind You Is The Sea, is one of the best books I have read so far this year.

A well written book from a debut author that reads more like a collection of short stories than a novel as each chapter is about a different character, but they do overlap. The common elements are the characters are all Palestinian and all reside in Baltimore. So many of the stories are about young women who become pregnant and disgrace their families so there is much guilt and shame over falling out amongst generations.

My reading has been slow & erratic lately but I managed to finish 3 books this weekend.
📗Away by Jane Urquhart. Beautiful, lyrical story about an Irish family's immigration to Canada.
📗A Stranger in my Grave by Margaret Millar. Mid-century noir set in an affluent suburb of LA. Spotty plot but love how it tackles racial/ class issues
📗Tagged book. Excellent linked stories about the Palestinian community in Baltimore. Last story about 👇

Reading more like tightly interconnected short stories than a novel, this book explores the daily lives of a Palestinian-American community in Baltimore. I really like that it covers all sorts of people—young and old, rich and poor, traditional and progressive. Israel is touched on briefly here and there and it‘s impossible to not feel it in the background, but that‘s ultimately not the focus. I really liked this.