false 243939 7 9 female 1795190 5989307 1932690727 9781932690729 32 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1231784116m/5989307.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1231784116s/5989307.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5989307.Saffron_Dreams 4.02 50 From the darkest hour of American history emerges a mesmerizing tale of tender love, a life interrupted, and faith recovered. Arissa Illahi, a Muslim artist and writer, discovers in a single moment that no matter how carefully you map your life, it is life itself that chooses your destiny. After her husband's death in the collapse of the World Trade Center, the discovery of his manuscript marks Arissa's reconnection to life. Her unborn son and the unfinished novel fuse in her mind into one life-defining project that becomes, at once, the struggle for her emotional survival and the redemption of her race. Saffron Dreams is a novel about our ever evolving identities and the events and places that shape them. It reminds us that in the midst of tragedy, our dreams can become a lasting legacy.]]> 243939 4.00 52 34 2009 433015 0595370098 9780595370092 2 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174709745m/433015.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174709745s/433015.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/433015.Beyond_the_Cayenne_Wall_Collection_of_Short_Stories 3.50 2
The characters draw the reader into their stories through their heartbreaking situations and inspiring decisions. Tannu is asked to give up her firstborn child to the caretakers of the temple of Shah Daullah in order to uphold the tradition of sacrifice. Dhool is a defiant, spirited woman who confronts the five mistakes in her life and ventures out among the wolves in human clothing to make the lives of her children better. In a striking account of alienation and the clash of two worlds, Mansi, a young mother, returns to her native land to bring her widowed mother back to live with her brother in the United States.

In these and several other stories, Abdullah weaves together a collection of events that spin around betrayals, confessions, lost opportunities, misunderstandings, revenge, acceptance, and denial, shaken in with exotic spices and flavor, a potpourri for the senses.

'Abdullah takes us into the hearts and minds, realities and yearnings, and daily existence of women young and aged in and from South Asia. Her stunningly beautiful prose and elegant iridescent descriptions of the land that these women love is juxtaposed with the brutality and coarseness of their everyday existence."</br> -Dr. Shirley Hord, author of Implementing Change</p> Beyond the Cayenne Wall captures the cultural chasm-and sometimes the collision between the East and the West-as the characters struggle to find their individualities despite the barriers imposed by society. Tannu refuses to give up her firstborn to the caretakers of the shrine of Shah Daullah as tradition dictates. Dhool is a defiant, spirited woman who confronts the five mistakes in her life and ventures out among the wolves in human clothing to make ends meet. In a striking account of alienation and the clash of two worlds, Mansi faces some tough choices when she brings her widowed mother back with her to live in the United States.</p> In these and several other stories, Abdullah weaves together a collection of events that spin around betrayals, confessions, acceptance, and denial, shaken in with exotic spices and flavor, a potpourri for the senses.</p>]]> 243939 4.00 52 34 2005