🧿 Evil Eye Bookstagram Tour 🧿
I can’t even begin to describe how much I devoured the book ‘Evil Eye’ by Etaf Rum. This is her sophomore novel; you might remember her from her debut ‘A Woman Is No Man’ that was an @readwithjenna pick! If you need more Etaf Rum in your life she also has a novella as part of a ‘Amazon Original Stories’ series titled ‘Mother Country’.
Evil Eye is a beautifully written novel, that tackles themes of marriage, family dynamics, motherhood and mental health. I was so engrossed by the main character Yara and rooting for her along the way. I loved the inclusion of her journal to further tell this tale.
Yara is a girl who has demons from her childhood. She was born and raised is an Arab community in Brooklyn, NY where her parent’s immigrated to. She may be a Palestinian American, but her greatest memories were visitng her ’Teta’ in her family’s home country. She has big dreams and knows the only way she can pursue anything and also leave her family is marriage.
What she thought would be a modern marriage to an Arab man who “allows” her to go to college becomes mostly her being responsible for her daughters, the household and an elaborate dinner every night. She is stuck working a university job vs. teaching art so she can keep hours only while her daughter’s are at school.
After a verbal out lash with a colleague at work she is forced into therapy. That is when Yara starts pulling the thread in that has stitched her life together and takes a real look at what she really wants. She meets a great friend a long the way and I’m a sucker for found family!
Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.org