From Powells.com
Hot new releases and under-the-radar gems for adults and kids.
Synopses & Reviews
Spanning several decades, Ghassan Zeineddine's debut collection examines the diverse range and complexities of the Arab American community in Dearborn, Michigan. In ten tragicomic stories, Zeineddine explores themes of identity, generational conflicts, war trauma, migration, sexuality, queerness, home and belonging, and more.
In Dearborn, a father teaches his son how to cheat the IRS and hide their cash earnings inside of frozen chickens. Tensions heighten within a close-knit group of couples when a mysterious man begins to frequent the local gym pool, dressed in Speedos printed with nostalgic images of Lebanon. And a failed stage actor attempts to drive a young Lebanese man with ambitions of becoming a Hollywood action hero to LA, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have other plans.
By turns wildly funny, incisive, and deeply moving, Dearborn introduces readers to an arresting new voice in contemporary fiction and invites us all to consider what it means to be part of a place and community, and how it is that we help one another survive.
Review
“Zeineddine's striking debut collection details an endearing cast living in the Arab American community in Dearborn, Mich….This genuine offering speaks as much to the heart as the head.” Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
Review
“Stories full of humor and warmth about an Arab American community. Inspiring....Masterfully told....A fantastic collection heralding the voice of a major new writer." Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
Review
“A nuanced exploration into all aspects of a community....Reading this collection is an eye-opening experience for those who only encountered these kinds of characters in mainstream American media." Debutiful, a Most Anticipated Book of 2023
Review
“Dearborn is a charming, insightful collection of 10 stories with a delightful, comic edge, exploring the distinct experiences of Arab Americans who have made a home in the midwestern United States." Shelf Awareness
Review
“The stories in Dearborn — by turns hilarious and heartbreaking, astute and absurd — capture such a vital, underspoken aspect of the Arab-American experience, that sense of being not quite from the place you love and not quite loved by the place you're from. Ghassan Zeineddine has a talent for those very small details of Arab life in a place like Dearborn — the generational fatalism, the converted garage living room, the unlikely mash-up of cuisines at the neighborhood restaurant. These are wonderful stories from an exciting new name in Arab-American literature.” Omar El Akkad, author of What Strange Paradise
Review
“Dearborn is one of the funniest, truest, and most heartfelt books I have ever read. Zeineddine writes with so much grace and understanding, so much love and compassion, so much mastery that these stories will become part of who you are.” Morgan Talty, bestselling author of Night of the Living Rez
Review
“These stories will stay with you for weeks and years after you've finished them, making you again laugh, wonder, and rage. Dearborn is masterful, gentle, wild, and full of heart.” Rivka Galchen, author of Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch
Review
“At once urgent and timeless, the stories in Dearborn are searing and unflinching snapshots of an immigrant community struggling to carve out space for itself, to find home in unfamiliar territory. The unforgettable characters slash through stereotypes as they navigate heart-wrenching and absurd situations, all the while grappling with identity and intergenerational tensions. The world Zeineddine creates is filled with beauty, brutal realities, and humor. I couldn't put it down.” Zaina Arafat, author of You Exist Too Much
About the Author
Ghassan Zeineddine was born in Washington, DC, and raised in the Middle East. He is an assistant professor of creative writing at Oberlin College, and co-editor of the creative nonfiction anthology Hadha Baladuna: Arab American Narratives of Boundary and Belonging<.em>. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Ohio.