A Map of Home

 

A Map of Home by Randa Jarrar, is a prime example of a Bildungsroman, a coming of age story. The troupe of coming of age stories or Bildungsroman, is prevalent throughout various forms of media. We see characters change, they trade their child like wonder for adult understanding. There is often some sort of rebellious phase in between there too. In A Map of Home, we follow Nidali’s character from her birth up until she leaves for college. This is usually seen as the end of childhood and the beginning of the once coveted adulthood. Nidali’s character starts off as the obedient daughter whose only wish is to please her father but as she grows older she starts to see the cracks. It is a big day in a child's life when they realize their parents are not always right, when you realize you can say no to them. Nidali starts to fight for what she wants and if she is not given it then she takes it. If her parents say she can not go out then she’ll sneak out instead. She also begins exploring her sexuality. This is another large part of coming of age, when puppy love loses its innocence. She quietly revolts against her father by pocketing the money he gives her for lottery tickets, and not so quietly revolts by running away from home to get what she wants. She holds herself ransom to negotiate for a more free life. We also see the aging of her parents, while she started the book as a calm baby, her father started it as a fiery young man. As the story continues we see them slowly switch places as her fire is ignited in herself while his dims and he begins to mellow out. The term “coming of age” might traditionally be applied to stories of children becoming adults but I believe we are all constantly “coming of age”, there is always more to learn and more to be.  (332)

Food in Crescent by Diana Abu-Jaber.

 

Food is integral to the book Crescent by Diana Abu-Jaber. Where there are no words there is food. When a character is unable to speak, they eat. The basis of Han and Sirine’s relationship is the preparation and consumption of food. From that first morning they made baklava together there was no turning back. When you frame a story around a main character who is a chef, it is impossible to avoid food and Abu-Jaber leans into this whole-heartedly. Even at the end of the book she spends time describing what’s bubbling on the stove instead of what Han has to say on the phone. Food is the easiest part of a culture to share. All a person must do is eat, they do not need to learn a new language or travel to another country. Nadia’s cafe is a hub for the Arab American community in California. The yearning for a taste of home or the taste of one they love’s home is what brings the people together in a way that nothing else can do to such an extent. Food holds memories. A single bite has the power to transport its taster back in time to places long forgotten. When Sirine is making the baklava, before Han shows up, she remembers when she would make the dessert with her mother and father. This is the most tangible description of her parents we get in the whole book. The rest of her memories of them are fragmented dreams or imagined from photographs but when she’s preparing the baklava she can see them clearly. And it is a happy memory, her parents were so often gone but this food brought them together. It gave them a purpose to spend time around one another. The common cause of cooking unites people, whether it be in friendship, romantic and familial. 

(Word Count 309)