Fava Beans For Breakfast

by Suzanne Salem

What if moving to a crumbling Australian coastal town meant giving up your only dream?

In 1974, Nayeema reluctantly leaves Sydney’s inner city to move to Burraboo, a tired coastal town, with her husband Fawzy. In doing so, Nayeema surrenders her only dream, but once there she falls under the sway of new infatuations.

On a houseboat in the pristine bay nearby, she sells the comforting food of her Egyptian childhood, but keeps her income a secret from her husband. Through this act of defiance and independence, Nayeema unwittingly unlocks a mysterious connection with her new land.
Then everything changes when a local teenage girl goes missing and racial tensions ignite in the town.

As Nayeema’s houseboat arrangements become more entangled, her yearnings must fight her own history, the impetuous jinn and each other, to finally reveal the mystery of the strange birthmark that prickles on her chest.

Genres: Audiobook

342 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 1, 2017

Reviews

[Ruci Tukana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another debut novel to be reckoned with.

....' Her situation with Fawzy felt at times, hopeless. She loved him, dearly. If she needed her she would not let him down; if he were criticised, she would leap to his defence. He had rescued her and she was suffused with gratitude. She simply wasn't in love with him...'

Here is a woman living in a foreign land with a dream. A dream to have an ear- piercing shop. She suffers the greedy claws of her brothers and taken to another strange place by her husband. Her cafeteria business is kept a secret from her pharmacist husband. She desires to live an independent life which she finally achieves at the end of the story.

Plot :
The story line is interesting. Nayeem and Tom' s friendship keeps the story moving. Salem's expressions and descriptions add excitement...'..a hurricane of emotion, a royal glasshole, the dazzle of flamboyant blues, the pallid sky as voluminous clouds cloaked the south..' Such phrases connect the readers to reality. Then we have Cherrie Blossom, blooming always like her name but a musked -cheater. Goldie, whose name suggests something else. The thief! .
The issue of land buying at the Horizon and Serpentine Height is boring. It delays the rhythm thus killing the readers' interest. Salem could have built more on the fossils discovery.
There is a huge suspense on the cultural and genetic significance of Neeyam's birthmark. That could be the blunder of the story.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

An immigrant story that covers dreams and hopes, secrets, friendships and community attitudes. Life in a small coastal town is described well - with all the secrets, both shared and hidden that can exist there. Suzanne Salem's use of language gave Nayeema's story authenticity. I loved her journey to find a place where she felt she belonged. I also loved that the story was set in the seventies with coastal development, strikes, communes and fashion all playing a part in the story. This was an enjoyable story.

[Roslyn Page · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 A first book for Suzanne Salem
Very enjoyable. I thought the voices of all her characters were good. She was able to swap between Nayeema and Tom with authenticity. The story was interesting. Setting it in the 70's meant she could use bigotry a little differently than would be realistic now. I don't think anyone would care that much about a liaison with a hippy dippy, now. Also the union stuff might be bit outdated.
I hope she writes another book.

[Joanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a great read. While I loved the language of Nayema the rest of the characters were clunky.

The constant use of "honey" or "baby" in every sentence spoken by Cherie and Goldie made this almost unreadable for me, distracting from what could have been a beautiful story. It's like the characters were written by two different people.

This took so long to read and I only finished it because I hate not finishing a book.

[Lyndallanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book because of its exotic title and because it's a debut for a new Aussie author. An immigrant story set in a coastal town in the 70s. Explores themes of friendship, betrayal, bigotry, and dreams. The concept for the story was great, but it read like a Monica McInerney novel- so it wasn't really my preferred style of writing, though I'm sure it would really appeal to some. It's got a nice mix of intrigue, likeable characters and commentary on life in the 70s.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

somewhere between 3 and 3.5

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audio version
A beautiful story encompassing Naima, a refugee who, with her long life friend and husband, basically flees her country of Egypt, from the cruelty of her brothers to Baribou in Australia.

Throughout the story, her life enfolds piece by piece and we get to know her ever so deeply through her dreams of opening her own ear piercing parlour to trying to navigate her relationship with her husband and adjusting to her new life in a small town.

We are introduced to some interesting characters, delving into an arena of a time where economies were building, cultures were shifting and merging with one another and communities were integrated with people from around the world.

I personally think that this story is particularly relevant to everyone, in being given an understanding to how one person's story and one person's cultural background can be highlighted dramatically because of their difference but can also be a difference in bringing people together. I loved Naima's character; her gentleness, courage, determination, commitment and warmth. I always felt that I was just there with her.

5/5 stars

[Glenys · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is a snapshot of Australia in 1974.
Egyptians, Fawzy and Nayeema, have left Sydney behind in order that Fawzy can take up a post in the pharmacy at coastal Burraboo, a once thriving community now in slow decline.
He is determined to fit in and has already called himself Fred and cannot understand why Nayeema is unwilling to become Nina.
At a time when Australia is reluctantly accepting the melding of cultures from many parts of the world, Nayeema finds her own way to belong and share her culture with the local people and find fulfilment of her dreams in the very land.
The characters are many and varied, each with a story to tell.
This is a delightful story with enough complexity to keep it interesting right to the end.

Thanks for the recipes.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining story, but with lots of time jumps of a few weeks that mean readers miss out on seeing important development in those times so there is a bit more telling than showing. A key theme of the book is belonging, and connection to place, and the author has tried to write some Aboriginal presence into the story - but she's done so without any Aboriginal characters and a white man as the expert on amd advocate for their heritage, which was not a good way to progress that storyline.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This first novel is set in 1974. Egyptian Nayeema and husband Fawzy leave Sydney for rural Burraboo on the coast. As he works at the pharmacy she sells food on a houseboat and struggles to settle. An interesting read about relationships, the meaning of home, the land, and mysteries.

[Elisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a local teenage girl goes missing...

Takes all the book to get to this point. Long and drawn out. Could have been a great story, but it isn't.

[Stacey Ruscoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled to get into this but did want to find out what happened to the characters