Crescent

Sirine is thirty-nine, an lraqi-American golden-haired beauty. Her parents died when she was a child; she has been brought up in Los Angeles by her lraqi-born uncle, a professor at the local university and an endless source of fabulous tales of jinns, sheiks and Bedouins. An exquisitely gifted cook, Sirine works at Cafe Nadia, a Middle Eastern neighbourhood restaurant where homesick ex-pats crowd its tint' tables to drink coffee, read newspapers and savour her perfectly spiced food. Sirine is loved by all, but has never been in love herself; it is her uncle's dearest wish that she will fall for Hanif, a dashing new professor in Arabic literature, and a political exile from Baghdad, longing for home. It is at Cafe Nadia that Sirine and Hanif finally fall in love; their relationship is steeped in the scents, flavours and textures of Sirine's cooking. As with the most temperamental soufflé, however, a happy-ever-after outcome is far from certain; Sirine never quite feels that she has been admitted fully to Hanif's life-is she not Arab enough, not Muslim enough, too American? In this compelling and poignant novel, Diana Abu-Jaber has created a host of unforgettable characters, including Um-Nadia, Sirine's matchmaking boss, and Nathan, her would-be admirer with secrets of his own. Telling the story of the love affair between Sirine and Hanif in all its complicated glory and heartbreaking sadness, Crescent is a rich, sumptuous feast of a book, a mouth-watering mixture of romance, risk, relationships - and recipes.