West Of Jordan - Softcover

Halaby's choice to alertnate the narratives of the four young women offers real characterizations to latch onto, and her prose, often lyrical--particularly when the speakers relate other people's stories--deepens the complications of history and heritage. Contemplative and lush, this coming-of-age tale resonates with the challenges of cross-cultural life.

"This debut introduces readers to the rich and complicated lives of four cousins...Their stories often intermingle, but Halaby's greatest talent lies in meting out a unique perspective for each cousin. As she writes, she reveals not only the struggles required to fashion a bicultural identity but also the demands that maturity and autonomy place on young women regardless of their ethnicity or nationality. Her novel gives librarians an opportunity to expand their holdings of exceptional Arab American and Arab women writers who do not necessarily conform to existing stereotypes. Recommended for all collections."

Laila Halaby is a deeply gifted writer. She describes complicated, culture-spanning lives in a poetic prose that is clean and compelling. There is no glossing over pain here, but the power of telling-richly human voices and the redemption of honesty.--Naomi Shihab Nye, author of 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East

Laila Halaby was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to a Jordanian father and an American mother. She speaks four languages, won a Fulbright scholarship to study folklore in Jordan, and holds a master's degree in Arabic literature. Her first novel, West of the Jordan, won the prestigious PEN Beyond Margins Award. She lives in Tucson, Arizona, with her family.