The story of this book is one of courage in the face of oppression, in the voice of Palestinian American women trying to escape the restrictive role of women in their culture. The story is told through three generations of women – the traditional grandmother Fareeda, the daughter-in-law Isra (and her sister-in-law Sarah), and the granddaughter Deya. Both Fareeda and Isra were raised in Palestine. Fareeda and her husband Khaled escaped the refugee camp with their children, managing to leave their country behind and come to America. Isra was arranged in marriage to Fareeda’s son Adam and left her family’s home in Palestine to come live in Adam’s family home in Brooklyn. Deya is the oldest of Isra’s four daughters, haunted by the death of her parents and searching for their true story.

The women in this story lead incredibly restrictive lives. They are responsible for all the work of the home – cooking, cleaning, and child rearing. The richest passages in the book describe the women together preparing the traditional (labor intensive) dishes cooked for the men – the stuffed grape leaves, the meat pies, the onions with sumac. School is a site for religious instruction and a holding spot until girls are married off. They are not to leave the home without supervision. College is not for women.

For the older generations, it is seen as acceptable for women to be beaten at their husband’s discretion – if their tea isn’t spiced correctly, if they have a girl baby instead of a boy baby, if the husband is just in a bad mood. It is a bleak existence. The women all struggle in different ways to spare their daughters the ordeals of their adulthood. Isra, Deya and Fareeda’s daughter Sarah are all passionate readers, and literature brings them hope and helps them gain perspective on their lives.

Many women immigrants who come to America not knowing English, not having family (other than their spouse), and not having money, face similar problems to the characters in this novel. But the chaotic background of Palestine seems to make women’s situations even more dire. When Isra starts to be beaten by her husband Adam, Sarah tells her “you know domestic abuse is illegal here right? If a man ever put his hands on me, I’d call the cops right away.” Isra explains “Husbands beat their wives all the time back home. There is no government in Palestine. It’s an occupied country. There’s no one to call. And even if there was a police, they’d drag you back to your husband and he’d beat you some more for leaving.”

In spite of the constant fear these women face, they all take courageous steps to improve their lives. It is a gripping story which opens a window on a community I know little about.