September 24, 2004

When Ethnic Slurs Get You A Movie Deal

Alicia Erian, author of the critically acclaimed short story collection The Brutal Language of Love, has sold the film rights to her new novel, Towelhead, which will be published in April 2005. The movie will be directed by Alan Ball.

Ball dropped everything after he got an early look at Towelhead, a book that mixes the sex drive of the underage with the repressed desires of adults.
Set during the Gulf War, the book is a coming-of-age story of a 13-year-old Arab-American girl who must navigate a sexual obsession with a bigoted Army reservist under the oppressive eye of her Lebanese father.
The article says it's much more than just an "ethnic rehash of Lolita." You can be sure that I'll be checking out this one as soon as it comes out.

posted by Laila Lalami at 12:03 AM