Reading Group Center
- Home •
- Books by Category •
- Imprints •
- News •
- Videos •
- Media Center •
- Reading Group Center
5 Books Highlighting the Arab & Arab American Experience
In honor of Arab American Heritage Month, we’re sharing a few of our titles that showcase the multifaceted experiences of Arab and Arab American people. From coming of age stories to political science to beautiful literary fiction, we hope you join us in celebrating these narratives this April and beyond.
Between Two Moons by Aisha Abdel Gawad
Set in the Arab immigrant enclave of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, following three siblings coming of age over the course of one Ramadan, “a moving look at family, survival, and celebration” (Hanif Abdurraqib, author of A Little Devil in America).
Read an excerpt | Buy the book
Conditional Citizens by Laila Lalami
In this brilliantly argued and deeply personal work, Pulitzer Prize finalist Laila Lalami recounts her unlikely journey from Moroccan immigrant to U.S. citizen, using her own story as a starting point for an exploration of the rights, liberties, and protections that are traditionally associated with American citizenship.
Read an excerpt | Buy the book
The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine
In 2003, Osama al-Kharrat returns to Beirut after many years in America to stand vigil at his father’s deathbed. As the family gathers, stories begin to unfold: Osama’s grandfather was a hakawati, or storyteller, and his bewitching tales are interwoven with classic stories of the Middle East.
Read an excerpt | Buy the book
Orientalism by Edward W. Said
A groundbreaking critique of the West’s historical, cultural, and political perceptions of the East that is—three decades after its first publication—one of the most important books written about our divided world.
Mother of Strangers by Suad Amiry
Set in Jaffa in between 1947 and 1951, this “fable-like historical novel of young love…darkly humorous and touching” (Oprah Daily) is based on a true story during the beginning of the destruction of Palestine and displacement of its people.
Read an excerpt | Buy the book