Vial of Tears by Cristin Bishara
2021; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 75; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/bcc.2021.0504
ISSN1558-6766
Autores Tópico(s)Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies
ResumoReviewed by: Vial of Tears by Cristin Bishara Natalie Berglind Bishara, Cristin Vial of Tears. Holiday House, 2021 [320p] illus. with photographs Trade ed. ISBN 9780823446414 $18.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780823450343 $11.99 Reviewed from digital galleys Ad Gr. 9-12 When seventeen-year-old Sam touches a coin from her great grandfather in Lebanon, she and her younger sister Rima are thrust into the Phoenician underworld. [End Page 47] The sisters get separated, and Sam must rely on the shady god Eshmun, who wants his obol (burial coin) back so he can find his family. Sam gets manipulated by an elephant woman into stealing a vial of Eshmun’s healing tears for his evil uncle Môt, and is swept up in a prophecy that dictates a god will marry a beautiful mortal woman and give birth to the savior of the ruḥā (spirits of the dead). The plot is chaotic and unwieldy, and every problem that arises for Sam is easily fixed, often without total logic (the bad guys take each other out at one point). Most of the male characters comment excessively on Sam’s beauty, and worse, threaten to ravish her—in a particularly dark moment, a coliseum of people root for Môt to rape Sam publicly. Still, the setting with the Phoenician pantheon is complex and will likely be a draw for readers interested in mythology, while the fantasy element is effectively balanced with the realism of the sisters’ difficult life circumstances (mom’s an addict, dad’s MIA, and their decrepit trailer is overdue on rent). An author’s note includes inspirations, recipes, and pictures of the author’s own Lebanese family. Copyright © 2021 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
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