Skip to main content

Love & Lust Smorgasbord

 



We Wrote in Symbols, Love and Lust by Arab Women Writers 
Edited by Selma Dabbagh 
Literary anthology  
Saqi Books, September 2021  

We Wrote in Symbols offers a collection of poetry and prose that deciphers the signposts for the phases and stages of longing, lust, and love: anticipation, courtship, intoxication, commitment, adoration, in/fidelity, betrayal, complacency, danger and more. Women of Arabic heritage from around the world and across three millennia most often celebrate, sometimes ridicule, and all evaluate the nuances of sex and love and their power dynamics. The first prose selection, “A Free Girl's Tale" by Saeida Rouass*, examines agency and consequences. The protagonist realizes, “As I wondered in my naivety I had no inclination that my simple existence shook the very foundations of power…” Much later in this collection Hanan al-Shaykh's longer “Cupid Complaining to Venus" thematically overlaps and diverges from S.R.’s interpretation of the erotic deity. Malika Monstadraf's “Housefly" poignantly distills the essence of anticipation. “At Last" by khulud khamis [sic] resonates with succinctly piercing heartache. There's the voice of unapologetic demand in Rita El Khayat's “Messalina Unbound" in eleven compelling verses. Metaphorical cheekiness in “If You Want to Know" by Umm al-Ward al-Ajlaniyya. “Arachnophobia" by lisa luxx [sic] entangles provocative themes with unconventional text formatting. Appropriately, the Cinderella spin of “Happy Endings" by Zaynab Fawwaz appears among the last few contributions.  

In the prose and the poetry it's mostly women's points of view, but not all, as in the reality morphing “Tangled Roots" by Noor Mohanna. Overall, We Wrote in Symbols examines and honors humans as embodiments of multifaceted layers of generations of sensory and cultural experiences from the sweet and self-effacing conciliatory to the sour and violently combative and every combination between these two extremes. Every word offers worthwhile reading including the introduction, footnotes, glossary, list of suggested additional reading, acknowledgements, authors' biographies and credits. Allowing time to savor is highly recommended.  


*Saeida Rouass is scheduled to be a panelist for the featured discussion of adaptations during the third annual The Write Women Book Fest (for which Cardyn Brooks is the outreach coordinator) on Saturday, October 9th from 12 noon to 5 p.m. at Marietta House Museum in Glenn Dale, Maryland.  


More Love & Lust Reads  

o Ripple effects of addiction and trauma  
The Summer of No Attachments by Lori Foster  
Contemporary romantic women's fiction  
HQN Books, June 2021  


Life's Too Short (Friend Zone #3) by Abby Jimenez  
Contemporary romantic women's fiction  
Forever, April 2021  

“Well, Dad doesn't believe in expiration dates, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.”  

“… The universe doesn't give a sh**, it's a total a**hole.”  


The Happy Ever After Playlist (Friend Zone #2) by Abby Jimenez  
Contemporary romantic women's fiction  
Forever, April 2020  

Goodhearted dog rescuer morphs into well-intentioned dognapper. Messy, charming romance ensues.  


The Friend Zone (#1) by Abby Jimenez  
Contemporary romantic women's fiction  
Forever, June 2019  

Mischief maker in crisis collides with potential new partner in mayhem who turns out to be ride or die.  
[This reviewer unintentionally read The Friend Zone series in reverse order with great pleasure and no confusion.]  


o Candidates for intensive therapy  
The Russian Cage (Gunnie Rose #3) by Charlaine Harris  
Alternate history fiction  
Gallery/Saga Press, February 2021  

Gunnie Rose: I felt all kinds of ways, and I wanted to sit and be quiet for a spell.  


The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser  
Contemporary romantic women's fiction  
Ballantine Books, May 2021  

Thea: Oh my God, it would make a good book… Posh People Behaving Badly… 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Best Man: Unfinished Business by Malcolm D. Lee with Jayne Allen Delivers All the Feels

Black love. Black joy. Black drama. Humanity in its vast melanin array.   [front cover of a paperback ARC for The Best Man: Unfinished Business; silhouette of three adults] The Best Man: Unfinished Business by Malcolm D. Lee with Jayne Allen  adult contemporary fiction with romantic elements  Storehouse Voices, July 2025   First, dedicated fans of The Best Man franchise and its beloved characters need not fear how they’re treated in this first of three novels. In fact. One thread of Harper’s storyline seems to reflect the real-life author/screenwriter/director’s battle to protect and maintain the integrity of The Best Man universe. Mission accomplished.  Second, once readers - fans or not - start this novel they won’t want to stop. The compulsion to re/watch The Best Man movies and limited series and maybe even to reread this book while anticipating the release of book two in 2026 will prove difficult to resist.  Who are you?  Who are your people?...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Million Lives Book Festival - An Unfortunate Exception, Not the Event Rule

[2 decorative stickers on lined writing paper from left to right: a round smiley face arranged upside down to look like a frown and a round smiley face arranged right sight up] By now most bookish folk and others have heard about the inaugural A Million Lives Book Festival held at the Baltimore Convention Center last Friday and Saturday. To recap: according to participating authors and attendees many promises were made and almost all of them were broken.  As outreach director and co-organizer for The Write Women Book Fest scheduled to host its 6th event Saturday, July 19 & Sunday, July 20 of this year at the Bowie Comfort Inn & Conference Center in Bowie, Maryland, U.S.A., my reaction to the feedback being shared about A Million Lives is nightmarish. Even though we aren't connected to it in any way or familiar with the event organizer or her company, our completely unrelated event has felt some minor residual effects because people are worried. And that's an understanda...
Post a Comment
Read more

Our Poet Laureate's Memoir + More TWWBF2025 Prep

Educator, poet, short story author, mindfulness guide and now the moniker of memoirist has been added to the long list of creative accomplishments earned by Poet Laureate of The Write Women Book Fest Aressa V. Williams.  She was born and raised in the vibrant community of Washington, D.C.'s Northeast neighborhood of Deanwood. Her Memoir evokes the nostalgia, challenges, victories, heartaches and joys of her life that connect with readers across generations and locations.    [photo credit: H.L. Brooks; image: two paperback ARCs of In Deanwood, A Memoir by Aressa Verdell Williams arranged on a tabletop; cover art of a sepia toned two-story colonial house with four columns - two on each side of the front door]  The ebook is currently available with print copies coming soon! https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-deanwood-aressa-verdell-williams/1147594007   Just under 3 weeks before day one of The Write Women Book Fest and we've finished decorating t-shirts for our aw...
Post a Comment
Read more