April 2021 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge: Books on the Menu

I really enjoyed my April book for the monthly motif challenge (and I did, in fact, finish it in April, despite not getting to this blog post until July). The motif was "Books on the Menu," and the description said to "Read a book that features food, restaurants, cafes, cooking, or baking, on the cover or in the story." I chose the book Crescent, by Diana Abu-Jaber. Though the book is set in the United States (in LA), this book could have counted toward my March motif, Countries and Cultures, as it delved deep into the expatriate Arabian community in Los Angeles. There have been few times in my life when I've had the opportunity to live near Arab and Muslim populations, so I have never had the opportunity to learn much about them. So this book sort of introduced me to lively characters and their lives in an engaging and interesting way.

I took an english elective class in college that was called "Soul Food," and it focused on the ways in which food and dining together play important roles in our bonding as families/friends/cultures. We had three units, focusing on three different cultures within the US - the African-American culture, the Asian-American culture, and the Latinx culture. All of the books/writings we read were written by women, and they all focused on the importance of food in each culture. It was one of the most memorable classes I took in college, and it enriched and expanded my reading and author repertoire. I share this small anecdote because I think Crescent could easily and beautifully fit into that class. The writing is good and engaging, and it's easy to invest in the characters. I think I particularly felt an affinity with the main character (Sirine), as she was around the same age as me.

I enjoyed journeying with Sirine as she truly fell in love for the first time and experienced all the ups and downs of that time of life. I also really enjoyed the descriptions of cooking and how Sirine found herself and her culture in cooking, learning new recipes, and sharing them with the customers/friends in the restaurant. It really highlighted how food plays such an important role in connecting with others and in evoking home for people. All Arabian expats who visited Nadia's Cafe (the restaurant at which Sirine works) found both community and a taste of home there. There's a bonus in the book, too, as there are recipes to try out at the end of the book! I may be keeping this one, rather than passing it on, so that I can try them out! All in all, I would definitely recommend this one if you like romance stories, if you like and/or want to read more about expat Arabian culture, and/or if you like a good story.

Buy it on Amazon here