Evil Eye

A Novel

By: Etaf Rum

Narrated by: Vaneh Assadourian, Gail Shalan

“A moving meditation on motherhood, inter-generational trauma and how surface appearances often obscure a deeper truth. . . . A stunning second novel from a writer who set the bar very high with her first!”—Tara Conklin, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Romantics and Community Board

The acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of A Woman Is No Man returns with a striking exploration of the expectations of Palestinian-American women, the meaning of a fulfilling life, and the ways our unresolved pasts affect our presents.

""After Yara is placed on probation at work for fighting with a racist coworker, her Palestinian mother claims the provocation and all that’s come after were the result of a family curse. While Yara doesn’t believe in old superstitions, she finds herself unpacking her strict, often volatile childhood growing up in Brooklyn, looking for clues as to why she feels so unfulfilled in a life her mother could only dream of. Etaf Rum’s follow-up to her 2019 debut, A Woman Is No Man, is a complicated mother-daughter drama that looks at the lasting effects of intergenerational trauma and what it takes to break the cycle of abuse."" —Time magazine, ""The Most Anticipated Books of the Year""

Incredible

This was such an amazing book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Such an intimate look into this characters life and situation. I loved it.

Loved this novel!!

The end was so inspiring! The story captivating and the details like naming the spices ugh so good!

So much wisdom in a book of fiction.

Story resonated so much with me as it will with other women no matter their background.

Incredible Story

This book was beautifully written and incredibly relatable. I felt like the author articulated some of my own complex emotions on my healing journey.

This book is about guilt, anxiety, and depression

I had hoped to get another glimpse into the Palestinian culture in America. However, although the characters are Palestinian, and the book touches on some of the customs and norms of that culture, this book was much more about a woman struggling with anxiety and depression because of her status as a Palestinian wife, as well as guilt over things that happened when she was a child. Unfortunately, the narrator tended to have a very whiny voice, whereas had I read the book I would’ve interpreted the main character as more sad than whiny.