Crescent (Abridged) Audiobook

" Again, this book proves that it is possible to take a cheesy romance novel and pad it up with talk of food and the political situation, making it readable, but never more than that. "

" I really enjoyed this book but have to admit that I skipped over the chapters of the uncle's surreal stories. I was only interested in the main characters life and love situations. I finished this book a while ago so I don't recall tons of details but the gist I remember is this: lonely woman in her 40's, American-born Iraqi, dead parents, loving uncle, meets attractive Iraqi professor and various men at her restaurant...all the men seem to have secrets, She falls in love with the professor. His secrets are of his Iraqi family/culture against his ever-expanding interest in western culture. Ends up in England, LA, then they fall in love and she eventually trusts him. I enjoyed the mystery of his past and the rift of cultures, mistrust, and eventual love. "

" Even without the absolutely mouth-watering descriptions of Sirine's cooking, this is a wonderfully sensuous novel that captures a whole range of emotions beautifully. I can see now why the person who recommended this one to me speaks so highly of it. "

" Delicious and beautiful writing, I think this deserves no less praise than what is given to The Kite Runner. I loved every moment of this book and was sad to finish it. I didn't want to leave the characters behind! "

" Great writing - I enjoyed the story telling and the imagery. "

" I loved this story about middle eastern immigrants living in LA. There is a sensuousness to this book, mostly due to the descriptions of food, cooking it, eating it, smelling it. Yummmmm. Great read. "

" Interesting fiction selection that takes place among the Iraqi and Iraqi-American community in Los Angeles. "

" Brilliant, sensitive, compelling and suspensefullove story, with complex, believable, sympathetic characters. The themes of loss of, and ways to preserve, cultural and personal identity are central to the novel, as are the difficulties of being an Arab-American in today's world. I loved it. "

" Boring...couldn't finish the book. "

" I almost gave up on this book in the beginning, I couldn't get in to it. But then I stuck it out and ended up liking it afterall. It was sweet and it hurt all at the same time. "

" I liked the writing and the food references. It was a fun book to read. However, I felt let down when finally learning about Han's life in Iraq. It seemed like there was a lot of buildup for not much. "

" What a beautifully written story.... I cannot believe I had not heard of this book until recently... Get read to crave middle eastern food as you read this story. I have eaten a lot of hummus over the past two weeks :) "

" I also read the "Memoirs of Baklava"- Both intertwine beautifully food, language, and immigrant stories. "

" It's in my top 5 favorites of all time. I've read it twice now. A really believable, lovely romance, suspenseful. Colorful, rich, funny, sad. A perfect story. Could not recommend it more! "

" I love the food in this book and the energy from the main character. It is a little cheesy at the end, but overall enjoyable. "

" Crescent is on the top of my list of books read! The language, emotion and characters are amazing. I was sad to find myself closing this novel for the last time. "

" Oryxes :) "

" I loved this romance between an American chef and a recent immigrant from Iraq. Much angst is interspersed with lush descriptions of food. "

" I loved this book! It will make you very hungry for middle-eastern food. "

" Wonderful story + delicious food descriptions= A great book. "

" The story and characters interested me some but the writing was too flowery for my taste. "

" It doesn't deserve two stars. But it's also not very one-starish... "

" I know I'm in the minority here, especially among my colleagues who do Arab American literary criticism, but the more I read this novel the more boring I find it. "

" Ok book that lead to good discussion of the immigrant experience… "

" Brilliant, sensitive, compelling and suspensefullove story, with complex, believable, sympathetic characters. The themes of loss of, and ways to preserve, cultural and personal identity are central to the novel, as are the difficulties of being an Arab-American in today's world. I loved it. "

" LOVED this book. I found myself thinking about the characters long after I finished it. Very well written!!! "

" I was annoyed for about 75% of this book. Most of it feels like a movie filmed with Vaseline on the lens. The rest of it made me feel manipulated. It does indeed treat Iraqis as real people, but let's hope that soon a book will need more than that to stand out. "

" beautifully written, but I need an attention span to read this! Giving up for now... "

" What a beautifully written story.... I cannot believe I had not heard of this book until recently... Get read to crave middle eastern food as you read this story. I have eaten a lot of hummus over the past two weeks :) "

" really beautifully written, poetic language. fast readers will want to slow down to experience the imagery. i like how the book is so evocative of thoughts, feelings, and questions rather than just taking you down one road. i really enjoyed it! "

" In the characteristic middle-eastern style, this is a story within a story within a story. A little difficult to get into, but once I got going, I enjoyed it. "