'"Guilt is an emotion for which I have no time. It's exhausting, stops you from having any fun, and is the equivalent of one of those T-shirts that says 'I went to [insert adventure] and all I got was this lousy T-shirt'."
'In recovery mode after a messy divorce from a non-Muslim man, Lara Abdel-Aziz is estranged from her family and out of touch with her best friend Samira. Making ends meet by working in a fast food shop in Sydney, she also sings at a local bar, enjoying the anonymity of a favourite past-time. Local guitar player Leo is good company, but her only other interactions are with her mostly-absent flatmate Icky, and new age store owner Angela, who wants Lara to work for her and get in touch with her higher self.
'Lara is comfortably on autopilot until a near-assault at work forces her into counselling and she must start to unpack the events of her life and make peace with the past.
'Meanwhile, an unexpected encounter with Hakeem, the strict religious friend once in love with Samira, leads to an unlikely connection. As an attraction develops between them, they both begin to repair their broken lives.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Sequel to Courting Samira.
Courting Samira
Vaucluse
:
Amal Awad
,
2011
Z1865283
2011
single work
novel
'“So I was turned off a suitor when I saw his shoes. Despite the Arab warrior preference, I didn’t really care about looks. But I had a general rule: if the suitor came in wearing shoes with tassels, a leather jacket circa 1982, and/or a moustache, the doorknock appeal would fail from the outset. A girl has to have some standards, right?”
'It may be the 21st century, but who says courtship is obsolete? Coming from a (not-quite-traditional) Muslim family, 27-year-old Samira Abdel-Aziz knows all about it. But as an assistant at Bridal Bazaar magazine, she's pretty sick of all things wedding-related. Surely there’s more to life than suitors and marriage? Then Samira unwittingly becomes wedding gofer for her cousin/nemesis Zahra and her life begins to resemble a Spanish soap opera – minus the skimpy clothing and the bitch-slaps. This story is a light-hearted but honest peek into the life of a young, single Muslim woman living in Sydney – the joys of a blossoming romance (all very proper), the courtship rituals (so Jane Austen), the struggle with career and, of course, Arab Guilt.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
