Carryout
In the late 1970s, Ziad Idilbi, a Palestinian refugee from Lebanon, marries Salma, a Lebanese refugee escaping the war in Beirut. Resolving to start over for the very last time, the couple opens a corner store in Toledo, Ohio, across from the General Motors factory, where Toledoâs Arab community intermingles with the working class. Over the decades, whether itâs bigotry (pre- and post-9/11), financial ruin, or terminal illness, the Idilbis find themselves on lifeâs outskirts, attempting to build something new.
Achingly poignant and slyly funny, the linked stories in Carryout follow the Idilbis and their children as they teeter on the brink of catastrophe. Walid, the youngest child of Ziad and Salma, navigates the heartbreaks of youth as well as the colorful characters who haunt his parentsâ corner store. As he grows up into a writer, Walidâs gaze fixes on his father and the long shadow of displacement and occupation. Mustafa, the eldest son, is forever trying to outrun the disasters that seem to seek him out, while Nawal, the only daughter, is dumped by a friend and hatches a scheme to win her back. Unsure whether to run toward each other or away from each other, the characters in Dudarâs exquisite debut suffer the absurdities and indignities of life in America with wry obstinance and striking wisdom.
In the late 1970s, Ziad Idilbi, a Palestinian refugee from Lebanon, marries Salma, a Lebanese refugee escaping the war in Beirut. Resolving to start over for the very last time, the couple opens a corner store in Toledo, Ohio, across from the General Motors factory, where Toledoâs Arab community intermingles with the working class. Over the decades, whether itâs bigotry (pre- and post-9/11), financial ruin, or terminal illness, the Idilbis find themselves on lifeâs outskirts, attempting to build something new.
Achingly poignant and slyly funny, the linked stories in Carryout follow the Idilbis and their children as they teeter on the brink of catastrophe. Walid, the youngest child of Ziad and Salma, navigates the heartbreaks of youth as well as the colorful characters who haunt his parentsâ corner store. As he grows up into a writer, Walidâs gaze fixes on his father and the long shadow of displacement and occupation. Mustafa, the eldest son, is forever trying to outrun the disasters that seem to seek him out, while Nawal, the only daughter, is dumped by a friend and hatches a scheme to win her back. Unsure whether to run toward each other or away from each other, the characters in Dudarâs exquisite debut suffer the absurdities and indignities of life in America with wry obstinance and striking wisdom.
Description
In the late 1970s, Ziad Idilbi, a Palestinian refugee from Lebanon, marries Salma, a Lebanese refugee escaping the war in Beirut. Resolving to start over for the very last time, the couple opens a corner store in Toledo, Ohio, across from the General Motors factory, where Toledoâs Arab community intermingles with the working class. Over the decades, whether itâs bigotry (pre- and post-9/11), financial ruin, or terminal illness, the Idilbis find themselves on lifeâs outskirts, attempting to build something new.
Achingly poignant and slyly funny, the linked stories in Carryout follow the Idilbis and their children as they teeter on the brink of catastrophe. Walid, the youngest child of Ziad and Salma, navigates the heartbreaks of youth as well as the colorful characters who haunt his parentsâ corner store. As he grows up into a writer, Walidâs gaze fixes on his father and the long shadow of displacement and occupation. Mustafa, the eldest son, is forever trying to outrun the disasters that seem to seek him out, while Nawal, the only daughter, is dumped by a friend and hatches a scheme to win her back. Unsure whether to run toward each other or away from each other, the characters in Dudarâs exquisite debut suffer the absurdities and indignities of life in America with wry obstinance and striking wisdom.
