The Lebanese dishwasher

About this book

Amir Radi hates washing dishes. When he left Beirut, with a tightly grasped suitcase, he hadn't expected he'd end up at a Middle-Eastern restaurant with old cooks and dirty dishes. Amir knows his immigrant dream has somehow drowned in foamy dishwater. But one night, he meets Rami and begins to feel less isolated, more hopeful, and closer to overcoming a tragic time in his childhood, something he had tried to leave in Beirut. Set in Montreal and Lebanon, The Lebanese Dishwasher tells the story of one man's struggle with his past and self-acceptance while burdened with culture and obligation. The author presents an all-male version of Romeo and Juliet in which the Arab lovers find themselves threatened by society and worst of all by family prejudice and homophobia that culminates in a catastrophic climactic scene. The Lebanese Dishwasher is poetically charged, dramatically presented with engaging dialogue and employs a plot having almost fairy tale symmetry. Saikaley reveals herself as a writer with much to offer the reader, both in her knowledge of the rich culture of the Middle East and in the insight she brings to the gay character of Amir.