A fantastic debut collection of short stories that focus on the Arab American immigrant experience in Dearborn, Michigan. In turns, moving, funny and heartbreaking, these stories span a wide range of emotions and mark a talented new writer. I really enjoyed learning more about the Lebanese culture and community from these interconnected stories! Perfect for fans of authors like Danny Ramadan. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

I was really enjoying this collection, I like learning about people who are different than myself. I am a fan of this genre. The collection is uneven, some stories being far better than others, and some bits feeling REALLY incongruous: the story with domestic violence for instance, the parts with the more lurid sexual content felt completely different than that narrator's voice.

My enjoyment of the book immediately ended with the disgusting phrase: "sweating like a sister-fucker", not once but TWICE the author thought this phrase was needed…why? Is it meant to be edgy? Some sick kind of humor? Is it meant to let us know that this narrator is a horrible garbage person who can't think of a better simile or metaphor?

I'm an incest survivor and it's 2023. Are there no editors paying attention? No sensitivity readers? We deserve better…survivors and readers in general.

"Dearborn" by Ghassan Zeineddine is a collection of 10 essays that illuminate the Arab-American experience in Dearborn, Michigan.

Narrated by Sarab Kamoo and Qarie Marshall, the audiobook adds depth to these stories, making them even more engaging.

The book is a treasure trove of cultural references, offering readers an enriching glimpse into the migrant journey of Arab Americans and the resilient communities that nurture their growth.

What sets "Dearborn" apart is its ability to strike a balance between insightful narratives fraught with fear and trauma and humor. "Speedoman," in particular, stands out as a laugh-out-loud essay that was pure joy. Meanwhile the story about the racism and judgement experienced post 9/11 was tragic.

Special thanks to Dreamscape Media for sharing this audiobook via the NetGalley app.

"Dearborn" is a great read for anyone interested in exploring the diverse and vibrant tapestry of Arab-American life in Dearborn, Michigan, and beyond.

Dearborn is a collection of ten short stories that take place in Dearborn, Michigan. For those unaware, Dearborn was once a white, middle-class city, home to Ford Motor Company. It is now, the largest city of Arab Americans outside of the Middle East. The stories speak to the lives of the immigrant population who, generally, want to uphold their cultural and religious traditions to the younger generations who have thoroughly adapted to an “American” way of life.

Themes of generational conflict, immigration, war, trauma, stereotyping and sexuality appear in these stories. Vivid and well-developed characters enhance the stories as they cover a broad range of emotions - from humorous to heart-wrenching to work/life tensions. Each story is enjoyable in its own unique way.

Special thanks to Tin House Publications, Net Galley and Ghassan Zeineddine for an advanced copy of Dearborn in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. Note: I listened to the audiobook, read by Sarab Kamaoo and Qarie Marshall, which added to my enjoyment of the book. Publication date: September 5, 2023 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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This short story collection was excellent, and I usually have trouble connecting with short story collections.

I have discovered that a well done set of short stories can be one of my top favorite book genres! To get a reader invested and familiar with characters, quickly develop a plot, and round out a story in a short amount of time takes immense talent. “Dearborn” does just that!

These stories center around the Arab-American community in Dearborn, MI. Each piece is extremely unique in plot from the other stories, but all are tied together by strong themes of identity, belonging, what it means to be “American”, and countless other themes. By the time I finished each one, the characters felt tangible and real. The narrators and their talented vocals played a huge part in that!

A vibrant short story collection involving the arab-american community in and around Dearborn Michigan. Endearing, funny at times, but ultimately hit or miss for me. The stories did have easter egg like tiebacks to other stories - a nice touch. I particularly enjoyed the money chickens story, the lady who was obsessed with death, and the final story Uncle Ramses, but some of the others were more forgettable unfortunately. Overall a strong debut and I would be interested in the authors future works. The audio version features dual narrators Sarab Kamoo and Qarie Marshall that worked really well. Thank you to netgalley, tinhouse and the author for an advanced audio copy of the book.

Dearborn was a wonderful mix of stories of the Arab-American community there. I appreciated the various themes about religiosity, identity, fitting it, etc. Very well done.

AHHHH! I am always living for collections of short stories, and when there’s a multi-cultural angle, I’m more than enthused to add this to my TBR and then DEVOUR it. I am so thankful to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, Ghassan Zeineddine, and Tin House Books for granting me advanced audio access to this treasured trove before it hits shelves on September 5, 2023.

The many stories included share themes of strong-knit families, troubled loss and grief, immigration and racism, and so much more worth telling stories about. I especially enjoyed listening to this collection, for I felt included in the deep relational traumas and histories conveyed in each of these profoundly moving stories.