The Family Curse

 

Evil Eye

By Etaf Rum

Evil Eye by Etaf Rum follows Yara, a Palestinian-American woman raised in a conservative, emotionally volatile family in Brooklyn. Married to entrepreneur Fadi and now living in the suburbs with two daughters and a job at a local university, she has a life her mother could only dream of — yet she feels unfulfilled.

When her hope to chaperone a student art trip to Europe clashes with her husband's expectations, tensions at home rise. At work, a racist provocation from a colleague leads Yara to speak out, landing her on probation and in mandatory counseling. Her mother blames a family curse, but Yara begins to unpack intergenerational trauma instead.

With the support of her friend Silas, Rum crafts a moving mother-daughter story about patriarchy, identity, and breaking cycles. Intimate and thought-provoking.