by Abdi Nazemian
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Just released: May 21, 2014
Publisher: Curtis Brown Unlimited
Genre: LGBTQ, Middle East, Romance
Paperback: 274 pages
Rating: 5
Kara Walker has never found much glamour in her own life, especially not when compared to the life of her best friend Bobby Ebadi. Bobby, along with his sophisticated parents Leila and Hossein, is everything Kara always wanted to be. The trio provides the perfect antidote to what Kara views as the more mundane problems of her girlfriends and her divorced parents.
And so when the Ebadis assume that Kara is Bobby’s girlfriend, she willingly steps into the role. She enjoys the perks of life in this closet, not only Leila’s designer hand-me-downs and free rent, but also the excitement of living life as an Ebadi.
As Kara’s 30th birthday approaches, Leila and Hossein up the pressure. They are ready for Kara to assume the mantle of the next Mrs. Ebadi, and Bobby seems prepared to give them what they want: the illusion of a traditional home and grandchildren.
How far will Kara be willing to go? And will she be willing to pull the Persian rug out from under them when she discovers that her own secret is just one of many lurking inside the Ebadi closet?
Abdi Nazemian is the screenwriter of The Quiet, Celeste in the City, Beautiful Girl, and the short film Revolution, which he also directed.
He is an alumnus of the Sundance Writer’s Lab, a mentor at the Outfest Screenwriter’s Lab, and has taught screenwriting at UCLA Extension.
He lives in Los Angeles with his two children, and his dog Hedy Lamarr.
The Walk-In Closet is his first novel.
My two-bits:
While this story does not take place in the Middle East, you will get a sense of the culture as it is in America.
The main character, Kara, who is not of middle eastern descent gives her perspective on the L.A. and Hollywood singles scene. She also has some hilarious experiences of a 29 turning 30 year old.
I liked the interaction between all the characters and their issues with lies and truth.
Loved how this story unravelled and revealed itself from the "walk in closet".
Some steamy sex scenes and references.
Praise for the book:
”Absolutely engrossing read from page one- Abdi Nazemian has painted a world so vivid and real that even if you know nothing of ‘Tehrangeles’, by the end you feel as if you are a part it. I simply COULD NOT put this book down! ” -Busy Philipps
”I relished every moment of this warm, funny, brutally engaging novel. Abdi Nazemian’s Los Angeles is both uncannily familiar and entirely foreign. Put this in the canon of LA literature: Nazemian has written a side of Los Angeles prevalent in real life but rarely seen in fiction.” -Katherine Taylor, author of Rules for Saying Goodbye
“The Walk-In Closet is a contemporary fable of love, loss and redemption, set between cultures and between the sexes. Written at a spanking pace, with humor, suspense and a heart, it captures the voice of a generation and paves the way to a new genre of literary fiction.” -Lila Azam Zanganeh, author of The Enchanter: Nabokov and Happiness
Wanna give this a try?
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Offer ends: June 30, 2014
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* review copy and giveaway courtesy of Summer Reading Challenge 2014. It's not too late, join the reading challenge here. @booksparks #SRC2014!
