Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arabian Jazz | 1993 | Diana Abu-Jaber | Buy |
| 2 | Crescent | 2003 | Diana Abu-Jaber | Buy |
| 3 | Origin | 2007 | Diana Abu-Jaber | Buy |
| 4 | Birds of Paradise | 2011 | Diana Abu-Jaber | Buy |
| 5 | Fencing with the King | 2022 | Diana Abu-Jaber | Buy |
Diana Abu-Jaber’s standalone novels span several decades and cover a range of settings and styles, all connected by her interest in cultural identity and the immigrant experience. Arabian Jazz (1993), her debut, is set in upstate New York and follows a Jordanian-American family navigating life between two cultures. Crescent (2003), her most decorated novel, is a love story set in the Iraqi expatriate community of Los Angeles.
Abu-Jaber shifted genres with Origin (2007), a forensic thriller about a detective investigating mysterious infant deaths in Syracuse. Birds of Paradise (2011) takes place in Miami and explores a family fractured by a teenage daughter’s disappearance. Her most recent novel, Fencing with the King (2022), returns to themes of cultural heritage and family secrets. Each book stands on its own, but together they show Abu-Jaber’s range as a storyteller.