BOOKS
Bitter & Sweet
First published in 2023.
“Awad is a master of culinary literature [and] has created an exquisite, character-filled novel with all the paradoxes of a woman we might encounter in real life but rarely read about in the pages of a book.”—The Sydney Morning Herald
The lake in the middle of her father’s kitchen is only the first in a series of disasters in Zeina’s life. Nassar’s recent health crisis has seen his well-established community restaurant, Casablanca, losing ground and customers to trendier competition.
Casablanca’s deterioration is not the only chaos in Zeina’s world but, unlike her husband who won’t speak to her, her best friend who is sliding towards self-destruction, and her cousin who is stealing Zeina’s life story for content, the restaurant is something she can fix. And Zeina, lonely and adrift, needs something she can fix.
“Amal Awad’s Bitter & Sweet is a study of family, including the way we love, and the way we leave.”—The Australian
Taking leave from her prestigious chef position, Zeina throws herself into caring for her ailing father, immersing herself in the familiar foods and flavours of her childhood, trying to save both him and his restaurant. But working in the kitchen – and her childhood home – brings memories, secrets, and unexpected ambitions simmering to the surface.
“Bitter & Sweet is a superbly written, uplifting tale of reinvention – of the courage it takes to acknowledge the past, to forgive and release it in order to embrace your own vision for the future.”—Better Reading
When it comes time to make hard decisions, Zeina will have to accept that growing up is an ongoing process – one that never gets any easier.
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Other critical praise
“A novel that belongs on every bookshelf, Bitter & Sweet is a novel that captivates readers with its raw depiction of love, friendship, family, and most importantly, food.”—Mascara Literary Review
“Bitter & Sweet is a delicate study of grief… A work full of good humour, of pathos and of wisdom… What makes this book with its sensual food metaphors, its cultural references and the intensely internalised dialogue of its main character so very affecting is the large as life book people the author has created for us. They leap from the page into a reality so potent we feel we know these people – not as stereotypes or constructed characters but as erstwhile neighbours.”—Living Arts Canberra
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