Corona

Razia, our Desi born heroine begins life in Corona, Queens, a neighborhood once referred to by F. Scott Fitzgerald as the "Valley of Ashes." From there she starts a journey that has her giving historical tours in Salem, M.A., where her darkness aggravates donors and history buffs, smoking pot in the tenderloin of San Francisco with a domineering boyfriend, and hitchhiking through southern Florida with a beautiful girlfriend. Razia's parents give her the choice to "come home and get married or never come home again." But she lets nothing get in the way of her quest for freedom%E2%80%94even if it means being disowned by her family. Razia's adventures are told as short stories woven through time starting in the late 1980's and moving up to the mid 2000's where she does finally settles back in New York City (this time Brooklyn) and falls in love with a man, who is only temporarily in America. Rehman gives a warm poetic take on the life of a Muslim girl coming to terms with life in both pre- and post- 9/11 America. The re-election of "Bush Junior" is viewed with friends from a bar and even with the repercussions of that presidential term vividly drawn, the lives of this innocent and loving community remain optimistic. (Aug.)