Towelhead: A Novel
Apr 2006 · Sold by Simon and Schuster
4.0star
21 reviews
Ebook
336
Pages
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About this ebook
The story of a girl failed by her parents and by a conflicted America, Towelhead is an ultimately redemptive and moving work that no one can afford to ignore.
The year is 1991. When Jasira's mother finds out what has been going on between her boyfriend and her thirteen-year-old daughter, she has to make a choice—and chooses to send Jasira off to Houston, Texas, to live with her father.
A remote disciplinarian prone to explosive rages, Jasira's father is unable to show his daughter the love she craves—and far less able to handle her feelings about her changing body.
Bewildered by extremes of parental scrutiny and neglect, Jasira begins to look elsewhere for affection, but Saddam Hussein has invaded Kuwait, and high school has become a lonely place for a "towelhead." When her father meets, and forbids her to see, her boyfriend, it becomes lonelier still.
But there is always Mr. Vuoso -- a neighboring army reservist whose son Jasira babysits. Mr. Vuoso, as Jasira discovers, has an extensive collection of Playboy magazines. And he doesn't seem to think there's anything wrong with Jasira's body at all.
Painfully funny, tender, and sexually charged, Towelhead is that rare thing: a gloriously readable novel unafraid to take risks.
The year is 1991. When Jasira's mother finds out what has been going on between her boyfriend and her thirteen-year-old daughter, she has to make a choice—and chooses to send Jasira off to Houston, Texas, to live with her father.
A remote disciplinarian prone to explosive rages, Jasira's father is unable to show his daughter the love she craves—and far less able to handle her feelings about her changing body.
Bewildered by extremes of parental scrutiny and neglect, Jasira begins to look elsewhere for affection, but Saddam Hussein has invaded Kuwait, and high school has become a lonely place for a "towelhead." When her father meets, and forbids her to see, her boyfriend, it becomes lonelier still.
But there is always Mr. Vuoso -- a neighboring army reservist whose son Jasira babysits. Mr. Vuoso, as Jasira discovers, has an extensive collection of Playboy magazines. And he doesn't seem to think there's anything wrong with Jasira's body at all.
Painfully funny, tender, and sexually charged, Towelhead is that rare thing: a gloriously readable novel unafraid to take risks.
Ratings and reviews
4.0
21 reviews
Div Sieuraj
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December 21, 2014
While the book was well written and painfully honest, it touched the parts of me I had dug away and hidden for so long. I have never had a book touch me like how this one did. Not for the faint hearted indeed, but it is something most people should read.
1 person found this review helpful
Alexandra Nakimuli
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June 16, 2015
I didn't really know what to expect but I thought it was a great read with issues that are still happening til this day about racism, war, child abuse etc. It was an interesting eye-opener
1 person found this review helpful
Rachel Baker
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September 29, 2015
Read this book several years ago and it has haunted me since, in many ways.
1 person found this review helpful
About the author
Alicia Erian is the author of a short story collection, The Brutal Language of Love. Her work has appeared in Playboy, Zoetrope, Nerve, The Iowa Review, and other publications. This is her first novel.
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