April is national Arab American Heritage Month in the US. Celebrate with us by discussing one of these rich, layered books by Arab American authors with your book club.
Read on for a curated recommended reading list books by Arab American authors to add to your book club reading list. If you have a Bookclubs account, add the books to your Books I Want to Read shelf or recommend them to one of your clubs. If you don’t have a Bookclubs account yet, it’s easy and free to get started here!
The Other Americans by Laila Lalami
Timely, riveting, and unforgettable, The Other Americans is at once a family saga, a murder mystery, and a love story informed by the treacherous fault lines of American culture.
Dearborn by Ghassan Zeineddine
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.
The Arsonists' City by Hala Alyan
A rich family story, a personal look at the legacy of war in the Middle East, and an indelible rendering of how we hold on to the people and places we call home.
A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum
The New York Times bestseller telling the story of three generations of Palestinian-American women struggling to express their individual desires within the confines of their Arab culture in the wake of shocking intimate violence in their community.
The Beauty of Your Face by Sahar Mustafah
A Palestinian American woman wrestles with faith, loss, and identity before coming face-to-face with a school shooter in this searing debut.
The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar
The author of the debut The Map of Salt and Stars returns with this remarkably moving and lyrical novel following three generations of Syrian Americans who are linked by a mysterious species of bird and the truths they carry close to their hearts.
Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H
A queer hijabi Muslim immigrant survives her coming-of-age by drawing strength and hope from stories in the Quran in this daring, provocative, and radically hopeful memoir.
Behind You Is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj
An exciting debut novel that gives voice to the diverse residents of a Palestinian American community in Baltimore—from young activists in conflict with their traditional parents to the poor who clean for the rich—lives which intersect across divides of class, generation, and religion.
Looking for more book club book recs? Check out our reading lists of the most popular book club books and sign up for a free Bookclubs account to get our newsletter with the most popular and top trending books sent to your inbox every month.
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