Description
Fiction. Middle Eastern Studies. Women's Studies. 1st Place Winner for the 2020 International Book Awards for Multicultural Fiction. It is 1970. The evergreens are thick with snow despite it being the month of April. In an Ottawa hospital, another daughter is born to the Azar family. The parents are from Kfarmichki, a village in Lebanon but their daughters were born in Canada. Four daughters, to be precise. No sons. Youssef is the domineering father. Samira is the quiescent mother. Rima, Katrina and Mona are the traditional daughters. Then there is Adele, the newest member. "You should've been born a boy," Samira whispers to Adele shortly after her entrance into the world. As she grows, Adele learns there are certain rules Lebanese girls must follow in order to be good daughters. First off, they must learn to cook, master housework, learn Arabic and follow the traditions of their culture. Above all, they must save themselves for marriage. But Adele dreams of being an artist. When she is accepted to the University of Toronto, this is her chance to have a life outside the confines of her strict upbringing. But can she defy her father?
Author Bio
Sonia Saikaley was born and raised in Ottawa, Canada, to a large Lebanese family. The daughter of a shopkeeper, she had access to all the treats she wanted. Her first book, The Lebanese Dishwasher, co-won the 2012 Ken Klonsky Novella Contest. Her first collection of poetry, TURKISH DELIGHT, MONTREAL WINTER, was published in 2012 and a second collection, A SAMURAI'S PINK HOUSE, was published in 2017 by Inanna Publications. She is currently working on a novel called Jasmine Season on Hamra Street. THE ALLSPICE BATH (Inanna Publications, 2019) is her latest book. A graduate of the Humber School for Writers, she lives in her hometown of Ottawa. In the past, she worked as an English teacher in Japan.
Author City: OTTAWA, ON CAN