I am so glad I requested this audio book from NetGalley! Mia is first generation Palestinian American, raised by her grandparents since the death of her father. Her mother died when she was born and that side of the family had no interest in Mia, born of a marriage they disapproved of. Mia and her father shared a love of stand up comics. She graduated from Columbia with honors and is launched into a journalism career at Vibe, helped along by her college friend and crush who is her boss at Vibe. Mia conforms – most of the time– to her grandparents’ expectations, coming home on time, helping to cook traditional dishes, pretending she is working on the Vibe’s financial columns instead of a love column about how couple’s met. But she has one huge secret. For several years, she has performed at comedy clubs in New York, during the early part of the show so she can get home more or less on time. Even her closest friends know nothing about this.
A parallel story about her grandmother’s unwillingness to talk about her past, the sister she is estranged from and her family weaves throughout the novel, a powerful historical tale of the late 1940s as the war was just beginning and Palestinians were forced to flee. It is moving and an interesting look at the culture of her grandmother’s teenage years.
Admission: At first, the narrator, Reem Edan, seemed to portray Mia in a way that felt flat to me. But I realized it was intentional, to show us the “good” Mia. She’s still the good Mia when she performs and as she breaks out of her shell, but with a little bite. Her Arabic accents are phenomenal and overall I decided she was perfect for this role. Another admission:: You won’t laugh out loud at Mia’s comedy even though she’s a rising star. Maybe seeing it performed would make it funnier but it’s merely amusing. However, that does not matter to the story. This is a lovely story of friends, family, tragedy and emergence from tragedy. I was entranced!
They Called me Bookworm 