Evil Eye by Etaf Rum
Raised in a conservative Palestinian family in Brooklyn, Yara thought she would finally feel free when she married a charming entrepreneur who took her to the suburbs. She completed an degree in Art, landing a good job at the local college. As a traditional wife, she also raises their daughters and takes care of the house. With her family balanced with her professional ambitions, Yara knows her life is infinitely more rewarding than her own mother's. So why doesn't it feel like enough? After her dream of chaperoning a trip to Europe evaporates & she responds to a colleague's racist provocation, Yara is put on probation at work, and must attend mandatory counseling to keep her position. Her mother blames a family curse, and while Yara doesn't really believe in old superstitions, she finds herself growing increasingly uneasy.
Yara finds her carefully constructed world beginning to implode. To save herself, Yara must reckon with the reality that the difficulties of the childhood she thought she left behind have very real-and damaging- implications not just on her own future but that of her daughters.
Raised in a conservative Palestinian family in Brooklyn, Yara thought she would finally feel free when she married a charming entrepreneur who took her to the suburbs. She completed an degree in Art, landing a good job at the local college. As a traditional wife, she also raises their daughters and takes care of the house. With her family balanced with her professional ambitions, Yara knows her life is infinitely more rewarding than her own mother's. So why doesn't it feel like enough? After her dream of chaperoning a trip to Europe evaporates & she responds to a colleague's racist provocation, Yara is put on probation at work, and must attend mandatory counseling to keep her position. Her mother blames a family curse, and while Yara doesn't really believe in old superstitions, she finds herself growing increasingly uneasy.
Yara finds her carefully constructed world beginning to implode. To save herself, Yara must reckon with the reality that the difficulties of the childhood she thought she left behind have very real-and damaging- implications not just on her own future but that of her daughters.
Raised in a conservative Palestinian family in Brooklyn, Yara thought she would finally feel free when she married a charming entrepreneur who took her to the suburbs. She completed an degree in Art, landing a good job at the local college. As a traditional wife, she also raises their daughters and takes care of the house. With her family balanced with her professional ambitions, Yara knows her life is infinitely more rewarding than her own mother's. So why doesn't it feel like enough? After her dream of chaperoning a trip to Europe evaporates & she responds to a colleague's racist provocation, Yara is put on probation at work, and must attend mandatory counseling to keep her position. Her mother blames a family curse, and while Yara doesn't really believe in old superstitions, she finds herself growing increasingly uneasy.
Yara finds her carefully constructed world beginning to implode. To save herself, Yara must reckon with the reality that the difficulties of the childhood she thought she left behind have very real-and damaging- implications not just on her own future but that of her daughters.