logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2025
7m 14s

A new novel follows the love lives of th...

NPR
About this episode
Betty Shamieh was the first Palestinian American playwright to have a play produced off-Broadway. She describes her debut novel, Too Soon, as a "Palestinian American Sex and the City." The novel follows three Palestinian American women across generations as they navigate love and identity. In today's episode, Shamieh speaks with NPR's Pien Huang about using comedy as a way to humanize characters who may be dehumanized in the real world, the 10 year writing process for the book, and how she didn't necessarily want to write it, but she knew she had to.

To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy
Up next
Oct 30
New memoirs by Evan Gershkovich and Mahmoud Khalil chronicle political imprisonment
Today’s episode features memoirs by two men whose incarceration became international headlines. Evan Gershkovich is an American journalist who spent 16 months in a Russian prison. Two years after his release, his new memoir This Cursed Beautiful Land details the time he spent lis ... Show More
15m 41s
Oct 29
Biography 'American Pope' follows Leo XIV's life from Chicago to Vatican City
In American Pope: Leo XIV’s Road from the South Side of Chicago to Vatican City, NPR host Scott Detrow and religion editor Daniel Burke chronicle Pope Leo XIV’s path to leading the Catholic Church as the first American to take the position in its 2,000 year history. Reported acro ... Show More
9m 32s
Oct 28
In 'Friends and Family,' a police encounter strains a friendship between two moms
Natalie Baszile’s new book, Friends and Family, follows the friendship of two mothers: Babs, a Black woman, and Nora, a white woman with an adopted Black son. When the police are called on their kids while they’re home alone, the two women are left to grapple with their tightly-h ... Show More
8m 48s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2025
This Palestinian American's debut novel may not be political — but her existence is
To be a Palestinian American writer right now can lead to a lot of expectation to focus on identity and devastation, but in her debut novel, Too Soon, Betty Shamieh shares the story of three generations of Palestinian women trying to find love, purpose and liberation.See pcm.adsw ... Show More
32m 26s
May 2025
Author Selma Dabbagh | We Wrote In Symbols: Love and Lust By Arab Women Writers
In this episode of Ehkili, Palestinian writer Selma Dabbagh discusses the influence of her legal background on her storytelling and explores the complexities of her Palestinian identity, particularly in the context of political engagement and activism. The conversation also delve ... Show More
59m 30s
Feb 2025
Palestinian Writing From the Diaspora | Sahar Mustafah Interviews Susan Muaddi Darraj
In this episode of Ehkili, Sahar Mustafah welcomes author and editor Susan Muaddi Darraj to discuss her recent anthology, "Ask the Night for a Dream: Palestinian Writing From the Diaspora." The conversation highlights the significance of amplifying Palestinian literary voices, th ... Show More
50m 4s
Nov 2022
Arabian queens, Bangladeshi mothers and women's tales
Shahidha Bari looks at the voices of women emerging from new writing in novels, plays and histories. Zenobia, Mavia, and Khadijah are Arabian queens and noblewomen who feature in the new book by Emran Iqbal El-Badawi which looks at the way female rulers of Arabia were crucial in ... Show More
44m 52s
Jul 2021
Ep. 113 | Reading Palestine
In this week’s episode, Kendra and Sumaiyya, with special guest, Yara, discuss books by Palestinian women writers. Thanks to Our Sponsors! Go to http://talkspace.com and use the code READINGWOMEN for $100 off your first month. Try MUBI for 30 Days at MUBI.com/ReadingWomen. Ch ... Show More
42m 13s
Jun 2023
Women writing family sagas
<p>Kim Chakanetsa meets two writers who, in their work, explore the themes of love, identity, belonging and inter-generational trauma. Min Jin Lee is a South Korean American author who wrote two novels, Free food for Millionaires and Pachinko, a multi-generational saga followi ... Show More
27m 34s
Feb 2021
Ali Smith with Nihal Arthanayake
<p>Author and playwright Ali Smith chats to Nihal about her 2014 multi award-winning novel ‘How to be Both’, which has just been released as an audiobook.</p><br><p>In this episode, Ali reveals how she takes herself out of her comfort zone, why we should give books a chance when ... Show More
30m 32s
Jan 2024
Episode 572 - Sammy Harkham
With his graphic novel, BLOOD OF THE VIRGIN (Pantheon), Sammy Harkham tells a story of personal and professional disintegration, against the backdrop of exploitation movies and the Iraqi Jewish diaspora in '70s L.A. We get into the obsessions and family lore that drove him to mak ... Show More
1h 31m