The Wrong End of the Table, Ayser Salman
The Wrong End of the Table, Ayser Salman
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

The Wrong End of the Table
A Mostly Comic Memoir of a Muslim Arab American Woman Just Trying to Fit in

Author: Ayser Salman, Reza Aslan

Narrator: Ayser Salman

Unabridged: 6 hr 30 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download (DRM Protected)

Published: 03/05/2019


Synopsis

An Immigrant Love-Hate Story of What it Means to Be American You know that feeling of being at the wrong end of the table? Like you’re at a party but all the good stuff is happening out of earshot (#FOMO)? That’s life—especially for an immigrant. What happens when a shy, awkward Arab girl with a weird name and an unfortunate propensity toward facial hair is uprooted from her comfortable (albeit fascist-regimed) homeland of Iraq and thrust into the cold, alien town of Columbus, Ohio—with its Egg McMuffins, Barbie dolls, and kids playing doctor everywhere you turned? This is Ayser Salman’s story. First comes Emigration, then Naturalization, and finally Assimilation—trying to fit in among her blonde-haired, blue-eyed counterparts, and always feeling left out. On her journey to Americanhood, Ayser witnesses a blowjob at pre-kindergarten daycare, breaks one of her parents’ rules (“Thou shalt not participate as an actor in the school musical where a male cast member rests his head in thy lap”), and other things good Muslim Arab girls are not supposed to do. And, after the 9/11 attacks, she experiences the isolation of being a Muslim in her own country. It takes hours of therapy, fifty-five rounds of electrolysis, and some ill-advised romantic dalliances for Ayser to grow into a modern Arab American woman who embraces her cultural differences. Part memoir and part how-not-to guide, The Wrong End of the Table is everything you wanted to know about Arabs but were afraid to ask, with chapters such as “Tattoos and Other National Security Risks,” “You Can’t Blame Everything on Your Period; Sometimes You’re Going to Be a Crazy Bitch: and Other Advice from Mom,” and even an open letter to Trump. This is the story of every American outsider on a path to find themselves in a country of beautiful diversity.

About Ayser Salman

Ayser Salman was born in Iraq before it became a curiosity, and moved to America as a toddler. She is a writer and producer and editor for companies like Universal Pictures, Miramax Films, Disney, The Weinstein Company, and FX. Ayser lives in Los Angeles, California.


Reviews

My thanks to Skyhorse Publishing, and Netgalley. Ayser Salman is a freak of nature! I expected all sort of Immigrant angst from her. Nope. Not a peep. She did experience a few weird things that most of us didnt. Sorry Ayser, the smacking of butts in preschool must be an Ohio thing. Heck, it's probab......more

Goodreads review by Cindy on April 14, 2020

Every American should read this book. Salman examines growing up in the United States as a female Muslim and always feeling like she is sitting “at the wrong end of the table”. Moving with her family when she was young from Iraq to Columbus, Ohio, Salman endured culture shock of epic proportions. Da......more

Goodreads review by Louise on November 01, 2019

It takes guts to reference Garanimals, McMuffins, and dictators in one book, but Salman pulls it off with panache, aplomb, flair, and all the other words like that. I love this very funny—sometimes poignantly funny; sometimes dark; sometimes dramatic—and fascinating memoir about a highly-visible gir......more

Goodreads review by Cari on May 29, 2019

I loved Ayser Salman's reading of her memoir! She is so funny, authentic, and refreshing. A great pick for audio.......more

Goodreads review by Kibkabe on June 22, 2019

"The Wrong End of the Table" by Ayser Salman is a funny outlook on American life via the eyes of an Iraqi Muslim transplant. It's very light as in mostly the reader gets a view of dating obstacles rather than visits to the mosque, but the humor is well-constructed and the story is relatable. The auth......more