{"title":"Middle Eastern \u0026 Arab American","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"martyr","title":"Martyr!","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"Poet Akbar ( \u003ci\u003ePilgrim Bell\u003c\/i\u003e, 2021) is an almost deliriously adept first-time novelist, writing from different points of view and darting back and forth in time and into Cyrus' satirical dreams and the lives of Iranian poets from Rumi to Farrokhzad. Akbar creates scenes of psychedelic opulence and mystery, emotional precision, edgy hilarity, and heart-ringing poignancy as his characters endure war, grief, addiction, and sacrifice, and find refuge in art and love. Bedazzling and profound.\" \u003c\/strong\u003e --\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCyrus Shams is a young man grappling with an inheritance of violence and loss: his mother's plane was shot down over the skies of the Persian Gulf in a senseless accident; and his father's life in America was circumscribed by his work killing chickens at a factory farm in the Midwest. Cyrus is a drunk, an addict, and a poet, whose obsession with martyrs leads him to examine the mysteries of his past--toward an uncle who rode through Iranian battlefields dressed as the angel of death to inspire and comfort the dying, and toward his mother, through a painting discovered in a Brooklyn art gallery that suggests she may not have been who or what she seemed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKAVEH AKBAR\u003c\/strong\u003e's poems appear in \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker, The New York Times, The Paris Review, The Best American Poetry\u003c\/i\u003e, and elsewhere. He is the author of two poetry collections: \u003ci\u003ePilgrim Bell\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eCalling a Wolf a Wolf\u003c\/i\u003e, in addition to a chapbook, \u003ci\u003ePortrait of the Alcoholic\u003c\/i\u003e. He is also the editor of \u003ci\u003eThe Penguin Book of Spiritual Verse: 110 Poets on the Divine.\u003c\/i\u003e He lives in Iowa City.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Kaveh Akbar","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49557586411805,"sku":"9780593685778","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0821\/9095\/8877\/files\/9780593685778.jpg?v=1736450363"},{"product_id":"no-god-but-us","title":"No God But Us","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn this wry, provocative debut, two gay Afghan men--cast out of their respective countries of birth by circumstances beyond their control--collide in Istanbul, a city that will test their willingness to sacrifice everything for the ones they love.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"An exhilarating debut from a writer whose work I'll always want to read.\"\u003c\/b\u003e --R.O. KWON\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen Delbar--a hapless twenty-something with dreams of becoming a drag queen--is spectacularly outed, he flees the insular immigrant-dense suburbs of Washington, DC to seek refuge with his sympathetic aunt in Istanbul. There, he discovers a vibrant community of dissidents, sex workers, activists, poets, and heretics. Among them are Leif and his boyfriend, Mansur, with whom Delbar quickly develops a blazing fascination.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut Mansur also nurses a wounded heart, having left his own family, and his first love, behind in Iran. This time, Mansur's learned not to dream bigger than his own survival. He'll keep a low profile, work hard to send money back, and remain faithful to Leif--at least until his refugee status is granted.\u003cbr\u003eWhen riot police descend on attendees of the annual Istanbul Pride march, Mansur and Delbar are thrust into dangerous proximity. With the country surging into authoritarianism, each person must ask themselves: \u003ci\u003ewhat constitutes a life well-lived, and how high is the price of freedom?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTold through the alternating viewpoints of Delbar and Mansur, Bobuq Sayed's debut is a story of borders and boundaries transgressed, and a seductive exploration of what it means to make a home at the margins of society. At once an immigrant family saga, a thwarted love story, and a searing portrait of politics made intimately personal, \u003ci\u003eNo God but Us \u003c\/i\u003eis an ambitious introduction to a bold new voice.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBobuq Sayed\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eA Brief History of\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eAustralian Terror\u003c\/i\u003e and the novel \u003ci\u003eNo God but Us. \u003c\/i\u003eThey were a 2022-23 Steinbeck fellow at San José State University, a Lambda Literary scholar, and an award-winning James A. Michener fellow in the University of Miami's MFA program. Bobuq currently lives in New York City.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bobuq Sayed","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51501815202077,"sku":"9780063419469","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0821\/9095\/8877\/files\/9780063419469.jpg?v=1779904345"},{"product_id":"liquid","title":"Liquid","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eShortlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"Incisive... a whirlwind homage to the classic 'ridiculous first date' trope... sharp cultural criticism, particularly on dating and adulthood. Fans of Elif Batuman ought to take note.\"-- \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo years after earning a PhD from UCLA, the narrator of \u003ci\u003eLiquid\u003c\/i\u003e stand achingly far from the middle-class comfort promised by her education and the successes of her immigrant parents. Jokingly, her best friend, Adam, suggests she just marry rich. Taking this challenge seriously, armed with a spreadsheet, she sets off on a whirlwind summer of one hundred dates with rich Angelenos\/as.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut when a family emergency takes her to Tehran, it's a queer love interest and the possibility of a very different future that sustains her attention; now she must confront the contradictions of her life and decide which path she wants to follow.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eExploding off the page with verve and originality, \u003ci\u003eLiquid\u003c\/i\u003e delivers a modern dating tale like no other.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMariam Rahmani \u003c\/b\u003eis a writer and translator. Her recent novel \u003ci\u003eLiquid\u003c\/i\u003e has been shortlisted for the Center For Fiction First Novel Prize. Her translation from Farsi of Mahsa Mohebali's \u003ci\u003eIn Case of Emergency\u003c\/i\u003e was a \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e Best Book of 2022, while her translation of Farzaneh Milani's biography of the midcentury poet Forugh Farrokhzad is forthcoming with Liveright fall 2026. Her work has appeared in \u003ci\u003eGranta\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNew York Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003en+1\u003c\/i\u003e, and elsewhere.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mariam Rahmani","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51503982379293,"sku":"9781643756516","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0821\/9095\/8877\/files\/9781643756516.jpg?v=1779996334"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.anovelideaphilly.com\/collections\/middle-eastern-arab-american.oembed","provider":"A Novel Idea on Passyunk","version":"1.0","type":"link"}