Customer Reviews

Towelhead: A Novel

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I won't waste space here describing the book, as others here have already given great reviews with all the details of the background and characters. I will say that I picked up this book in a large bookstore, intrigued by the title, the Lebanese flag on the jacket, and the hope that it would be a story of the inevitable clash of culture in the Arab-American family. As the American half of an Lebanese-American family, I initially wanted to love it. I admit I quite often found it as hard to put down as it was hard to keep reading. I literally threw it across the room at one point, as I began to hate how this young girl's life was evolving. I was also once a thirteen year-old girl, and I agree with the other reviewers that Jasira's narrative makes her seem much younger than that. However, her sad existence up to that point (the product of the world's most selfish parents) almost make it understandable. She is so starved for atttention, that I knew immediately as I read, what would happen to her. I also realized that this was so much less a novel about her culture (or, rather, the culture of her father), and more a novel about her sexual awakening, and her search for love and attention. Therefore, the title really seems out of place. Her ethnicity is really not a part of the book, and as her features or appearance is never really described, it makes one wonder why others would taunt her with such a name. I, like many other reviewers here, was also amazed that the glaring error of claiming Lebanon as a North African country passed by the editors, and not once, but several times! The writer should know, as well, that most Lebanese Christians do not even identify themselves with Arab culture at all. Naming a child after Yasir Arafat simply would not happen in a Christian Lebanese family.

I would recommend this book only to those who are not bothered by graphic sexual descriptions, and to those who are not (like I was) looking for a book about Arab-Americans and their experiences. As a coming-of-age story, it is touching, and it does stay with you long after you finish.

In Towelhead, Alicia Erian's debut novel, readers are offered a view of what it might be like to grow up a child of two parents of different cultures. We may not leave with any more idea about that than we had coming into the novel but we will get a glimpse of a whole lot more than we probably bargained for.
Thirteen year old Jasira, the main character of the novel, is at once notably naive and sophisticated as she determines the best way to walk across the thin ice of her parents' making. Her mother, a controlling, self-centered, unloving school teacher won't show Jasira how to shave her bikini line so that Jasira may feel comfortable at the swimming pool. For some unknown reason, Jasira's mother is uncomfortable with Jasira's developing body. Her mother's boyfriend steps in and does the shaving, swimsuit on, and when her mother finds out, Jasira is sent away to live with her father.
If the reader is looking for some relief for Jasira in the home of her father, they will be disappointed because Daddy turns out to be even more uncomfortable than her mother with not only Jasira's body, but the very idea of her existence. Not only are Daddy's rules unreasonable but they are unpredictable and Jasira has to second guess everything that comes out of her mouth.
Next door lives a pedophile who throughout the book seems to be the one abuser of the three (mother, father, neighbor) that holds any amount of conflicting feelings and guilt regarding his actions whereas the mother and father remain oblivious to their offenses.
Added to the mix are the politics of war (although Erian does not dig all that deep in this area); adolescent sexuality; and racial issues (again not a lot of depth to the issue of racial differences).
Jasira is lucky to find an advocate in another neighbor: a pregnant newlywed with more of a world view than others around Jasira, who ultimately rescues her from both of her parents and the pedophile.
Among the criticism Towelhead has received, what stood out to me was the complaint the narrator sounds younger than her thirteen years. Initially I thought the same thing. The first sentence: "My mother's boyfriend got a crush on me, so she sent me to live with Daddy," sounds as if it came from a girl a couple of years younger than Jasira's thirteen. It's only after reading further that I was able to gain some insight as to why Jasira's mental and emotional health may have seemed arrested at times. Under the constant emotional and physical abuse of her parents it would have been more unbelievable if she had come across as mentally, emotionally, and spiritually together.
This is a book that is not easy to read-Erian's straight storytelling does not make the abuse Jasira endures more comfortable for the reader. For that reason among many others, I recommend you do read it.

As noted by other reviewers, Erian's (and her editor's) apparent ignorance of the true location of Lebanon is amazing. Other than that, the book is a marvel. It pulled me in from the very first sentence, and I read the first 200 or so pages in a day. If I didn't know better, I would think this was a true, autobiographical account written by a 13-year-old. She's cunning and clever, and in some ways very insightful, but not yet wise. On one level, she reminds me of the hapless stenographer of A.N. Wilson's novel, "Wise Virgin," of some years ago. On another, the naive protagonist of Mary Gordon's "Final Payments."

Only one episode did not ring true to me: that the little girl's racist neighbor would not have been enraged and threatened violence when he learned that the girl and her black friend from school had let themselves into his house and harassed his son. And I find it hard to believe anyone, no matter how sympathetic, agreeing to keep a dead cat in her freezer, although I suppose anything is possible. Other than that, every reaction, every episode, and every character seemed real, and I had absolutely no idea how it would turn out. Up to the last few pages, I still thought it would end tragically.

Erian took three years to write this, destroying an initial 100-page draft because the voice sounded too adult. Her hard work shows: the voice is one of the most authentic things about this book.

Life with Daddy is a delicate balance. Stifled by her father's strict guidelines of behavior and discomfort with his daughter's sexuality, Jasira begins masking her feelings and hiding signs of her budding desire. Her repression at home leads her to seek asylum in the company of several neighbors and school friends. Her flirtation with army reservist Mr. Vuoso introduces her to both the positive and negative sides of sexual expression.
Erian has told Jasira's story with the painstaking care of someone who loves the character she is writing about. You can tell that she wants to protect Jasira, but she never shies away from showing the painful truth.
You find yourself torn between the moral norm and the complicated and problematic alternative. And the genius of it is, a lot of the time the complicated answer seems to be just what Jasira needs.
Jasira's story is heartbreaking and subtle. She'll steal your heart.

This is the first novel that I've read which deals with adolescent female sexuality in a way that is honest and realistic. Though still child-like in her thoughts and behavior, Jasira's body has nonetheless matured into that of an adult woman. She has been neglected and ignored by both her parents, which leaves her craving attention and approval, and vulnerable to abuse. Erian does a good job of exploring the complexities of adolescent female sexuality. On the one hand, Jasira is excited to learn about sexual pleasure, and yearns to receive romantic attention and affection from her father's next door neighbor. On the other hand, Jasira submits to the sexual demands of her classmate in order to placate him and maintain their friendship. Jasira, like all adolescent girls, lacks the emotional maturity and awareness of self that are critical to having a healthy sexual relationship, but is nonetheless at an age where she is discovering and exploring her sexuality. The novel details the transition from childhood into becoming a sexual being, and challenges many of the traditional notions about adolescent girls and sex, as well as what constitutes a family.

As the title suggests, this book is about the harsh name-calling of a person of Middle Eastern descent. The person in question is a young teenage girl entering adolescence. But it goes much more beyond that. It's about the many poor relationships that she must endure before finding out that people (especially children) shouldn't really be treated the way she has been.

The book is by first-time novelist Alicia Erian, and I picked it up because I always enjoy reading authors' first efforts. It was definitely an easy read, told from the perspective of the 13-year-old girl, Jasira, who lives with her strict (and physically abusive) Lebanese father in Texas after her Irish mother sends her to live there. It was well-written in that it was written as a 13-year-old might write. The language was simple, direct, and adolescent (in a good way). Had Erian written it differently, it would have lost its realistic approach into the mind, thoughts, and feelings of a young girl.

Jasira's mother sends her to live there after she discovers that the mother's boyfriend did some inappropriate things to her daughter. Of course, her mother maintains the relationship with her boyfriend, showing where her loyalty lies.

While in Texas, Jasira befriends the neighbors, much to her father's displeasure and begins to babysit for a young boy who feels free to use "Towelhead" as an appropriate term for his babysitter. Jasira also befriends the boy's father, and he later sexually abuses her, making her feel like she did something wrong, and that it was okay that he did so.

To add fuel to the fire, we discover that Jasira's father is a racist and tells her to stop seeing an African-American boy in school. She goes against his wishes (behind his back, of course), as she likes spending time with her new boyfriend...and exploring sex with him.

"Towelhead" could very well be this generation's "Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret?" It is a bit more graphic, though, so parents should be a bit wary and read the book first. That's not to say that this is a teenager's book. It's very much for adults. But it contains some valuable lessons for teenagers and adults alike about relationships and parenting.

Kudos to Erain for an enjoyable book!

Alicia Erian's debut novel unfolds the story of an Arab-American girl navigating an unfamiliar suburban and cultural terrain with no emotional support or direction. TOWELHEAD, narrated by 13-year-old Jasira, is set in 1991 against the backdrop of the first Gulf War.

Where this book is headed is indicated from the start. Shortly after the story opens, when Jasira's mother finds out that her boyfriend has shaved her daughter's pubic hair --- an act most would find reprehensible --- what does she choose to do? She keeps the boyfriend and sends Jasira from their home in Syracuse to live with her father in Texas. In Houston, Jasira struggles to adjust to her new life. Classmates call her names like towelhead and camel jockey. Her Lebanese father's strictness spills over into verbal and physical abuse. Her emotionally absent mother (who's of Irish descent) washes her hands of the daughter she can't seem to love or even connect with.

Jasira's loneliness and curiosity about her awakening sexuality lead to a fixation with Mr. Vuoso, a married Army reservist who lives next door. His blatant bigotry doesn't stop him from developing a relationship with Jasira that leads to his manipulating and sexually assaulting her. Mr. Vuoso isn't the only one who wants something from Jasira --- her father wants an obedient daughter, her mother wants validation, and her friend, Thomas, wants to practice his sexual prowess with her.

The one shining light in Jasira's life is Melina, a neighbor expecting her first child, who takes the girl under her wing and asks for nothing in return. Melina wants only to protect Jasira from both Mr. Vuoso and her abusive father. What Jasira finds with Melina is the simple caring that her own family lacks. "She waited for me to get my seat belt on before she started driving, which I thought was nice," says Jasira. "Daddy always started driving as soon as he had his own seat belt on, even if mine wasn't on yet. It always made me feel like he hoped we would get in an accident before I could buckle up."

One of the challenges of writing in the voice of a 13-year-old girl is finding a balance between relaying information necessary to the story --- such as the political climate of the time --- and maintaining thoughts and actions consistent with someone this age. Erian does this admirably, and seeing the world from Jasira's perspective is what gives the story its texture.

The deftness of Erian's writing is particularly evident in subtle turns of phrase that relay observations Jasira makes but doesn't fully understand, such as when she remarks, "I noticed that Mrs. Vuoso didn't really have any breasts, and I wondered if that was why her husband wanted to touch mine." The first-person narrative heightens the tension in the story, and at times it's like watching a train barrel down the tracks --- you know it's headed for disaster but can't do anything to stop it.

TOWELHEAD is an affecting portrait of adolescence and the need for acceptance. It's a coming-of-age tale that's both shockingly honest and unexpectedly poignant --- not to mention compulsively readable.

--- Reviewed by Shannon McKenna

Interesting that some people have dismissed this work and its Arab-American characters as being inaccurate or a timely writing device to capture sales. It is apparent that Ms. Erian's mistake was not just holding true to the reality of the basics of her story.

Ms. Erian studied in upstate NY and probably grew up in the area and she has noted in other publications that she lived in Texas with her father, who is Egyptian. So evidently she is quite intimately aware of the live of a half-Arab-American girl in modern US society. Her mistake was in trying to anonymize her own background a bit by making the father Lebanese instead of Egyptian.

I find it amazing that people demand stereotypes that fit in with their own either through their biases or experiences. Just because Ms. Erian's experiences as an Arab-American didn't match those of other authors or readers doesn't make her account any less believable or wrong as posited by some of the other reviews.

Anyway, its a pretty good book, though I liked some of her short stories better.

Another reviewer complains that the 13-year-old half-Lebanese narrator of Towelhead "has no clue what it is to be an Arab," and in a funny way I think that's part of what makes this book so good. As a biracial woman who grew up in white America, cut off from the close-knit communities that define "ethnicity" for so many of us, I felt the shock of recognition continually while reading Towelhead. The novel is truly smart about the various kinds of disconnects that haunt an adolescent girl like its protagonist Jasira, beginning with the problem of a racial identity that seems to mean everything to those around her but has no clearly defined place in her own experience. Then there's the conundrum (familiar to all children of sex ed) of knowing a million details about sex but having no idea how it's actually supposed to WORK. And perhaps most movingly, there's the immense gulf between the intensity of the desires and convictions of a 13-year-old girl and her utter lack of an adult language in which to express them, even to herself.

Towelhead adroitly captures the awkwardness of American adolescence on any number of its multiple levels, and in doing so it's not just heartbreaking but also, improbably, hilarious. Seeing the more ludicrous aspects of our sexual culture (think of the "interview" with the centerfold in a Playboy magazine) through Jasira's eyes means seeing them with the wisdom of a child who, while she's often hurt as a result of her misinterpretations of the world around her, gives us the gift of showing us what CAN'T be neatly interpreted, what's nonsensical about the supposedly adult world in which we live. In America we expect teenaged girls to be both innocents and seductresses. We expect people of color to be both proud and ashamed of their difference. We expect to revel in our sexuality while keeping quiet about its dark borderlands. Jasira's voice is somehow both naïve and sly about all this; she's the perfect guide through such contradictory terrain.

Alicia Erian is a talented writer. So, what went wrong with this novel?
The characterization is flat. With the exception of Jasira (the protagonist), her father's Greek girlfriend and the kitten, the people here are nauseating. Jasira's mother is a stereotype of the narcissistic white woman. Her father is a caricature of the ultra-stern, abusive Middle Eastern man. Of course the patriotic Army reservist not only has to be a bigot with a bratty whining kid and a clueless wife, he is also a sexual deviant. The young white couple living next door to Jasira epitomise do-gooder liberal arrogance. Jasira's secret black boyfriend needs a swift kick in the butt. Overly indulged by his parents, this kid hasn't any true respect for anyone. In my opinion, he also is sexually exploitive of Jasira.
The book can be tedious. Jasira seems to sleepwalk through her life. Then there are instances which push the notions of irony and coincidence to a point of being ludicrous. For example, Jasira's mother is deadset against her daughter seeing the obnoxious black kid. Then, later on, she is dating a black man and everything is now good and fine. Her father, cold and uncaring throughout most of the book, at the end becomes a warm and caring daddy almost overnight! Does Erian think this is character development?
Now, about the sex scenes which frequently pop up throughout this book: Graphic and very disturbing. Do we need to be subjected to reading about a 13-year-old girl masturbating to "Playboy?" Her eventual molestation was needlessly explicit. There was more detailing in the sex than for any other aspect of this book. It stinks of kiddy porn.

A side note:
Erian made a glaring error placing Lebanon in North Africa. But was it a mistake or a clue?
Erian is of Egyptian heritage. Wouldn't it be highly unlikely for an educated, intelligent woman of Middle Eastern background like Alicia Erian to make such a mistake? After all, it isn't Lebanon that is located in North Africa but Egypt! How close to this tale is Erian? Perhaps the inspiration for this story is memory and experience rather than research and imagination?