Zaina Arafat

The novel is non linear, so passages set in the current will be sandwiched between flashbacks of the past. Our narrator describes her volatile relationship with her mother, and her struggles as a Palestinian American. She’s often reckless. She has the tendency to cling to dysfunctional relationships and even seeks treatment for it. I can see how others would find her unlikable, but I found myself wanting the narrator to overcome her demons and find love. ⁣
I fell into reading easily with this book. I loved the style of the prose and felt the flashbacks really helped you better understand the narrator and her behavior. As someone who hasn’t read many books featuring Arab characters (and I should be better about that) reading this book opened my eyes to parts of a culture that I knew nothing about. ⁣… (mehr)

A somewhat raw time sliced life of a young woman overshadowed by a dramatically attractive mother whom she cannot please in any case and in particular in the matter of her bisexuality. The present concerns her reaction to the failure of her current relationship and her choice to go to therapeutic retreat for her "love addiction" during which her earlier life is reviewed piecemeal. There are definite moments of wanting to hit the protagonist and others upside the head. I found the flow somewhat fouled and some of the way of overlooking some consequences of choices off putting.… (mehr)