Read more
ARAB BOY DELIVERED is an intimate story set in the late sixties. As Michael maneuvers through the working-class neighborhood delivering groceries, he enters the homes and lives of his customers. He's confronted by the violence of racist bullies and falls for the radical college coed who teaches him about sex, love, and protest. Michael grieves with the mother whose only son died in the Vietnam War and is embraced by the first black couple who move into the neighborhood. They all shape him, and through the conflict of hate, acts of kindness, and his sexual awakening, Michael struggles to define his identity.
About the author
Paul Aziz Zarou: Palestinian American born and raised in New York; Paul moved to Los Angeles early in his working life. He raised his family in LA and now lives here with his wife. His love of literature, history, and politics is what motivates him to tell stories. As a writer of novels and screenplays, Paul enjoys exploring both the social and political landscapes of the past and the timeless complexities of family dynamics.
Summary
Michael Haddad, the teenage son of Palestinian immigrants, comes
of age during the tumultuous sixties in his family’s neighborhood grocery store
in New York City.
In 1967 Michael maneuvers through the working-class neighborhood
delivering groceries and enters the homes and lives of his customers. He’s
confronted by the violence of racist bullies and falls for the radical college
coed who teaches him about sex, love, and protest. Michael grieves with the
mother whose only son died in the Vietnam War and is embraced by the first
black couple who move into the neighborhood. They all shape him, and through
the conflict of hate, acts of kindness, and his sexual awakening, Michael
struggles to figure out who this dutiful son of an immigrant family is.
Michael’s life
is buffeted by the killing of Martin Luther King, Jr, and the death, two months
later, of Bobby Kennedy. His girlfriend opens his eyes to the ongoing struggle to
test national ideals against the growing diversity of America. But when Michael experiences a sudden personal tragedy, he must
learn to get past his fears, come to terms with his heritage, and set himself
free.
Additional text
Paul Zarou illuminates a rough and tumble neighborhood in Queens in the late 1960s with precision, clarity, and compassion . . . echoes of Philip Roth.Steven Schlesser, The Soldier, the Builder & the Diplomat
