Alicia Erian's novel Towelhead is as strong a debut as I've ever read. It's an incredibly dark, uncomfortable yet moving and often hilarious book. There was something to treasure and enjoy on every page, I just had to talk about it.

The story revolves around a 13-year-old Arab-American girl named Jasira. Her body has developed a little faster than normal, so at 13, she looks more like 16 and when her mother's boyfriend Barry begins paying more attention to her than he ought to, Jasira is shipped to Houston, Texas to live with her strict Lebanese father Rifat. It is the story of Jasira's sexual awakening, set against the backdrop of the Gulf War. It is not an easy time to be an Arab, as Jasira discovers when she starts school and the other kids begin calling her 'towelhead', among other things. This only adds to Jasira's sense of lonliness and isolation. Her father cannot understand her needs and Jasira herself is confused about the phsyical and emotional changes she is going through. In a time of desperation, she takes love and attention wherever she can find it, sometimes in a healthy manner, sometimes not.

Her most notable relationships include that of her somewhat surrogate mother Melina, who is about to become a mother herself. Melina provides Jasira with a sense of safety and comfort and, along with her husband Gil, Melina gives Jasira a home when things get particularly rough with her father. At school Jasira befriends an overweight blonde girl named Denise, who is in love with one of her teachers. Jasira also starts dating Thomas, an African-American boy with a fetish for hair-removal. But the most complex and most interesting relationship in the novel is easily that between Jasira and her neighbour Mr. Vuoso, a muscular, bigoted army reservist who becomes obsessed with Jasira. Their relationship is incredibly sexual and intense, often disturbing and uncomfortable. The moments between them are the most powerful and most awkward in the novel, especially their ill-timed sexual encounter on Jasira's couch.

As I said, there are some very disturbing moments, mostly related to Jasira's sexual experiences with the older men in her life. This is not a particularly pleasant book to read and it is definitely not for everyone. There are moments of such blistering power that you'll find yourself cringing and, remarkably, laughing at the same time. The greatest achievment of the book is how it managed to move and amuse me simultaneously. For those interested in a very powerful drama, I cannot recommend Towelhead highly enough. Author Alicia Erian is an incredible new talent, who manages to avoid every racial and sexual stereotype that you can think of, creating an ensamble of complex, well-rounded and limitlessly interesting characters. I had to special order the book in from interstate down here, so I'm not sure how easy it is to find in other parts of the world, but I suggest you try. It is well worth it. A stunningly powerful and moving piece of literature.

The film rights are owned by Academy Award winner Alan Ball (American Beauty, Six Feet Under), who wrote the script and has completed the film under the title Nothing is Private and it premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in early Septermber and was picked up by Warner Independent. There is no set release date yet, but if the film is anything like the novel, it will be absolutely incredible.


Matt.