AustLit

'Funny, touching uplit set in the Sydney restaurant scene. Bitter & Sweet will be Amal Awad's breakout book

'The lake in the middle of her father's kitchen is only the first in a series of disasters in Zeina's life. Nassar's recent health crisis has seen his well-established community restaurant, Casablanca, losing ground and customers to trendier competition.

'Casablanca's deterioration is not the only chaos in Zeina's world but, unlike her husband who won't speak to her, her best friend who is sliding towards self-destruction, and her cousin who is stealing Zeina's life story for content, the restaurant is something she can fix. And Zeina, lonely and adrift, needs something she can fix.

'Taking leave from her prestigious chef position, Zeina throws herself into caring for her ailing father, immersing herself in the familiar foods and flavours of her childhood, trying to save both him and his restaurant. But working in the kitchen and her childhood home brings memories, secrets, and unexpected ambitions simmering to the surface. When it comes time to make hard decisions, Zeina will have to accept that growing up is an ongoing process one that never gets any easier.' (Publication summary)

'“Being buried alive by social media hatred will force you to either construct impenetrable walls around your soul or quit completely.” So says Yassmin Abdel-Magied in her book Talking About a Revolution, a collection of essays old and new that document “the private and public self” and “systems and society”.'  (Introduction)

'In the cafe, I watch as a woman takes a photo of her plate – an impressive, glossy lime-coloured dessert with shards of chocolate perched on top. I want to feel that ease and confidence, too. Like this is my city again, and I know my way around it.

'Eight years ago, Sahar pursued her happily ever after when she married Khaled and followed him to Jordan, leaving behind her family, her friends and a thriving cake business. But married life didn’t go as planned and, haunted by secrets, Sahar has returned home to Sydney without telling her husband.

'With the help of her childhood friends, Sahar hits the reset button on her life. She takes a job at a local patisserie run by Maggie, a strong but kind manager who guides Sahar in sweets and life.

'But as she tentatively gets to know her colleagues, Sahar faces a whole new set of challenges. There’s Kat and Inez, who are determined that Sahar try new experiences. Then there’s Luke, a talented chocolatier and a bundle of contradictions.

'As Sahar embraces the new, she reinvents herself, trying things once forbidden to her. But just when she is finally starting to find her feet, her past finds its way back to her.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Amal Awad's life changed when her father was diagnosed with kidney failure. It was a shock to see the impact it had on him, both physically and mentally, and the way the side effects trickled onto those around him. Work had always made him feel whole and retirement was a challenge.

'Louise* is not a ‘religious’ person, but before her major surgery to treat stage four endometrial cancer, she prayed. It wasn’t God she turned to in those dim moments, instead Louise directed her invocations to Roman divinity Bona Dea, the ‘Good Goddess’.'  (Introduction)

'Should authors write characters and situations far removed from their own experiences? Amal Awad investigates the parameters of cultural appropriation.'

'"Guilt is an emotion for which I have no time. It's exhausting, stops you from having any fun, and is the equivalent of one of those T-shirts that says 'I went to [insert adventure] and all I got was this lousy T-shirt'."

'In recovery mode after a messy divorce from a non-Muslim man, Lara Abdel-Aziz is estranged from her family and out of touch with her best friend Samira. Making ends meet by working in a fast food shop in Sydney, she also sings at a local bar, enjoying the anonymity of a favourite past-time. Local guitar player Leo is good company, but her only other interactions are with her mostly-absent flatmate Icky, and new age store owner Angela, who wants Lara to work for her and get in touch with her higher self.

'Lara is comfortably on autopilot until a near-assault at work forces her into counselling and she must start to unpack the events of her life and make peace with the past.

'Meanwhile, an unexpected encounter with Hakeem, the strict religious friend once in love with Samira, leads to an unlikely connection. As an attraction develops between them, they both begin to repair their broken lives.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'“So I was turned off a suitor when I saw his shoes. Despite the Arab warrior preference, I didn’t really care about looks. But I had a general rule: if the suitor came in wearing shoes with tassels, a leather jacket circa 1982, and/or a moustache, the doorknock appeal would fail from the outset. A girl has to have some standards, right?”

'It may be the 21st century, but who says courtship is obsolete? Coming from a (not-quite-traditional) Muslim family, 27-year-old Samira Abdel-Aziz knows all about it. But as an assistant at Bridal Bazaar magazine, she's pretty sick of all things wedding-related. Surely there’s more to life than suitors and marriage? Then Samira unwittingly becomes wedding gofer for her cousin/nemesis Zahra and her life begins to resemble a Spanish soap opera – minus the skimpy clothing and the bitch-slaps. This story is a light-hearted but honest peek into the life of a young, single Muslim woman living in Sydney – the joys of a blossoming romance (all very proper), the courtship rituals (so Jane Austen), the struggle with career and, of course, Arab Guilt.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.