Towelhead (novel)
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Towelhead is a novel written by Alicia Erian and first published April 6, 2005. Alicia Erian is the first holder of the Newhouse Visiting Professorship of Creative Writing at Wellesley College.
The novel is about a thirteen-year-old girl coming of age. Physically developed for her age and looking slightly older, she does not understand how to deal with the effect she has on older men. Because of the reactions she invites in her American mother's boyfriend, her mother sends her from Syracuse, New York, to live with her Lebanese father in Houston, Texas, believing he will be a strong disciplining force in teaching her how to be more modest. Her father's stricter discipline, coming from a culture she has not grown up with and does not understand, only makes it more difficult to comprehend her surroundings, which include a bigoted Army reservist she is attracted to and an ironic liberal couple.
The film rights are owned by Alan Ball, who has written a screenplay and has directed it. The film is completed. Newcomer Summer Bishil, plays the lead and includes actors Aaron Eckhart, Toni Collette, Maria Bello, and Peter Macdissi. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday, September 8, 2007 and at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2008.
