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The Language of Baklava | 
 enlarge | Author: Diana Abu-jaber
Publisher: Anchor
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $8.00
You Save: $6.95 (46%)
Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 73773
Media: Paperback
Pages: 352
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.9
ISBN: 1400077761
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.5956
EAN: 9781400077762
ASIN: 1400077761
Publication Date: March 14, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: SOFT COVER.LIKE NEW.BOOK CONDITION IS EXCELLENT.CLEAN,TIGHT PAGES AND COVER
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Product Description
Diana Abu-Jaber’s vibrant, humorous memoir weaves together stories of being raised by a food-obsessed Jordanian father with tales of Lake Ontario shish kabob cookouts and goat stew feasts under Bedouin tents in the desert. These sensuously evoked repasts, complete with recipes, in turn illuminate the two cultures of Diana's childhood–American and Jordanian–while helping to paint a loving and complex portrait of her impractical, 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. The Language of Baklava irresistably invites us to sit down at the table with Diana’s family, sharing unforgettable meals that turn out to be as much about “grace, difference, faith, love” as they are about food.
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| Customer Reviews:
A delicious read February 18, 2008
Daboomer (Portland, OR)
In the book's foreword, Abu-Jaber states that the facts should never get in the way of a story, that the essence of experience is in the heart. She then tells her life story, each chapter an independent vignette, strung together by her father's love of family and food. I have little in common with Abu-Jaber, the oldest daughter of a protective, over-the-top father, who never truly left his native Jordan; and a US mother, obscure in the background, a stoical cypher. But Abu-Jaber is right, the essence of a story is in the heart, and her book connects.
Wonderful January 15, 2007
Erin Brooks (London)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
This is a great story - Abu-Jaber shares beautiful stories of growing up with a Jordanian father and an American mother. As someone close to Middle-Eastern expats, I recognised a lot of the feelings, emotions and social situations she describes: the longing for a long lost country that is one embellished from childhood memories, the importance of food as a source of comfort and a way to bring continuation to a new lifestyle in a foreign country, the importance of family, the unity between a family that is scattered around the world but whose heritage keeps them together. I thought it was very enjoyable and entertaining. It should be especially interesting to people interested in Middle-Eastern culture and those who are or know any expats/immigrants like Abu-Jaber's father. For a deeper and less light-toned stories, I also recommend Crescent, or West of the Jordan.
Moving and memorable August 4, 2006
Camille (USA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Terrific memoir, funny and moving. Pretty good recipes too! Highly recommend.
Moving and Delicious June 13, 2006
joanna (Los Angeles, CA)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
A lovely book, reminding me somewhat of my own childhood and my over-the-top overprotective father. The descriptions of her family's meals are incredible. I found myself rushing to make the recipes, looking forward to enjoying devouring them as I read, like I was sitting at the table with the author.
One of those books that you think, "Ok, it's late... I'll just read until the end of this chapter," then you don't put it down.
Well, if you're a foodie daughter of an immigrant like me, anyway.
So Moving June 13, 2006
MFAstudent (Madison, WI)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Reading The Language of Baklava, I felt like I'd stepped into a 'lost world'-- the rich memories and sensations and stories were outstanding. This is my favorite kind of book, the kind that I have trouble finding any more, where I feel like you enter the heart and mind of a life and a place. I will never forget this book.
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