West of the Jordan

By Laila Halaby

Book Overview

This is a brilliant and revelatory first novel by a woman who is both an Arab and an American, who speaks with both voices and understands both worlds. Through the narratives of four cousins at the brink of maturity, Laila Halaby immerses her readers in the lives, friendships, and loves of girls struggling with national, ethnic, and sexual identities. Mawal is the stable one, living steeped in the security of Palestinian traditions in the West Bank. Hala is torn between two worlds-in love in Jordan, drawn back to the world she has come to love in Arizona. Khadija is terrified by the sexual freedom of her American friends, but scarred, both literally and figuratively, by her father's abusive behavior. Soraya is lost in trying to forge an acceptable life in a foreign yet familiar land, in love with her own uncle, and unable to navigate the fast culture of California youth. Interweaving their stories, allowing us to see each cousin from multiple points of view, Halaby creates a compelling and entirely original story, a window into the rich and complicated Arab world.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807083593
• ISBN13: 9780807083598
• Release Date: June 2003
• Publisher: Beacon Press
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 0.72 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.4" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Realistic and Intriguing

This book is real and touching on so many levels. I can see and touch the characters and feel their pain with each turn of the pages. I must say that I was initially deceived by the simplistic language in rendering the story - only to realize that the writer had no choice but to simplify the complex in a way that was palatable for those of us not from the Arab-Muslim world. And while I do not come from the East, many of the scenes mirror my own cultural experience and held a fascination in itself. It also reassures me that in the scope of things, we are more similar than different. I was also amazed by the speed of reading and saddened when I realized that the pages were all almost read.

Great book...

This is an excellent book that will really get to your heart. A must for Asian Literature students. I bought it using a coupon from UnderTag.com, so it was almost free for me.

If you really wanna know

I read this book in many of it's stages; it combines the writers maturity and artistic complexity along with the ability to present complex characters on a simple and attractive plate of interwoven stories. If you really wanna know what it means to be a palestinian girl living under constant deprivation of stable mental conditions .. read this book.

Delicious voice, great female characters

This terrific book depicts the everyday life of young Arab girls in the U.S. and the Middle East. The story alternates between four cousins whose problems are both familiar and particular to their culture. The writing is lush and exotic. I recommend this book to anyone, but particularly to women who want to know what life is like for Arab girls caught between two worlds -- and who want to read a good story!