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Diana Abu-Jaber

Diana Abu-Jaber Quotes

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Famous Diana Abu-Jaber Quotes

“Dad says that everyone invented baklava.” It occurs to me now to wonder what that means. Aunt Aya rolls her eyes. “Your father? He is the worst of the worst. He thinks he cooks and eats Arabic food but these walnuts were not grown from Jordanian earth and this butter was not made from Jordanian lambs. He is eating the shadow of a memory. He cooks to remember but the more he eats, the more he forgets.”

ThinkingMeanMadeEyeEarthRememberFatherMemoriesForgetWonderWorstDadEatingShadowCooksHer EyesAuntLambsWalnuts
Author:Diana Abu-Jaber
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“The obsession with food filled my childhood - that's what happens when your parents are from a place or time where people really might starve. In America, my Jordanian father spent decades cooking professionally and pursuing his dream of a restaurant, and it was one of the central ways that he explained himself to his American children. Even though he's a passionate talker, he has a hell of a time with listening. His cooking gave him a way of having a conversation - which was a really interesting thing for a writer to look at.”

PeopleChildrenDreamFatherParentInterestingHellChildhoodListeningCookingPassionateObsessionReally Interesting
Author:Diana Abu-Jaber
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“The question of identity has always been a murky issue in my own life and my writing bounces that right back. My father was adamant that my sisters and I were "Arab," and even though our house was in Syracuse, it was filled with the food, language, music, and overbearing relatives of Jordan. Unlike my gorgeous sisters, though, I inherited my mother's lighter complexion - it really is amazing what a difference a little bit of pigment can make on a person's experience!”

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Author:Diana Abu-Jaber
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