Love, Hate & Other Filters: Chapters 1-2

by Samira Ahmed
Maya Aziz thinks her biggest problem is convincing her traditional parents to allow her to study filmmaking in New York City — but when a terrorist attack is committed near her hometown, she must also confront prejudice in her community.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1-2, Chapters 3-7, Chapters 8-11, Chapters 12-17, Chapter 18-Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. fetid
    offensively malodorous
    His mind wanders back six months to a fetid basement. Windowless, lit by a solitary bulb; empty except for sweaty bodies.
  2. noxious
    injurious to physical or mental health
    But I’m walking across a noxious parking lot with my parents toward a wedding where a well-meaning auntie will certainly pinch my cheeks like I’m two years old, and a kindly uncle will corner me about my college plans with the inevitable question: premed or prelaw?
  3. sari
    a draped dress worn primarily by Hindu women
    We step through an arc of red carnations and orange-yellow marigolds to a blur of jewel-toned silk saris and sparkly fairy lights strung in lazy zigzags across the walls.
  4. accord
    allow to have
    The tinkling of her silver-belled anklets signals the not-to-be-missed approach of Yasmeen, who addresses my mother with the honorific “auntie,” the title accorded all mom-aged Indian women, relation or not.
  5. solidarity
    a union of interests or purposes among members of a group
    So much for family solidarity.
  6. succumb
    give in, as to overwhelming force, influence, or pressure
    I never imagined her succumbing to an arranged marriage, especially not right out of college.
  7. clandestine
    conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods
    Even if it was a modified arrangement that involved three months of clandestine dating.
  8. subtlety
    the quality of being difficult to detect or analyze
    Did I mention that subtlety is not my mother’s strong suit?
  9. sitar
    a stringed instrument of India
    Sitar music fills the lapse in conversation.
  10. sonorous
    full and loud and deep
    The music slows, and a bright Urdu love song takes over from the sonorous dhol.
  11. taboo
    a ban resulting from social custom or emotional aversion
    The no kissing is anticlimactic, but some taboos cross oceans, packed tightly into the corners of immigrant baggage, tucked away with packets of masala and memories of home.
  12. seamless
    perfectly consistent and coherent
    I want to keep filming the choreography of waiters moving seamlessly in and out the kitchen doors, hot plates in their hands and smiles on their faces, each doing a little half-turn as they walk through the door, pushing it open with their shoulders.
  13. irreverent
    characterized by a lightly pert and exuberant quality
    It will be wedding-y, but irreverent, too.
  14. tenacity
    persistent determination
    But I saw a story about destiny and rivalry and tenacity.
  15. retrospective
    an exhibition of a selection of an artist's life work
    “There was a great Satyajit Ray retrospective at school last semester.”
  16. pretentious
    creating an appearance of importance or distinction
    “The Apu Trilogy is one of my favorites. I love his use of light, and did you know that François Truffaut stomped out of the first movie, Pather Panchali, at Cannes because he couldn’t stand watching a movie about peasants eating with their hands? Total pretentious jerk.”
  17. abject
    most unfortunate or miserable
    I bend down and pretend to fix my heel so he can’t see the abject horror and embarrassment on my face.
  18. behemoth
    someone or something that is abnormally large and powerful
    I train my camera on the four-tiered fondant behemoth.
  19. paisley
    a fabric with a colorful swirled pattern of curved shapes
    Each of the other layers is trimmed in red-and-gold paisley.
  20. ensue
    take place or happen afterward or as a result
    I thought I’d add a little drama to your movie. You know, after one too many cups of tea, the handsome Kareem fled with the bride. Chaos ensued.
  21. nuptials
    the social event at which the marriage ceremony is performed
    The bride’s father swore vengeance on the guest who had stolen the bride’s heart before the nuptials.
  22. purist
    someone who insists on great precision and correctness
    So are you a doc film purist?
  23. beguiling
    highly attractive and able to arouse hope or desire
    “I mean you probably don’t even need to speak; you just bat your beguiling eyes—”
  24. telltale
    disclosing unintentionally
    Lucky for me, the silence is broken by three telltale honks from the driveway: Violet.
  25. fawn
    try to gain favor through flattery or deferential behavior
    “Did Mike fawn all over you?”
  26. gesticulation
    a deliberate and vigorous motion of the hands or body
    I almost sit on my hands to prevent the ridiculous gesticulations I want to make.
  27. dervish
    a Muslim monk of an order noted for fast ceremonial dancing
    I am a whirling dervish of what-ifs.
  28. unassuming
    not arrogant
    “Maybe this means Phil will be available for prom.” Violet raises her eyebrows at me. “For a certain hot, yet unassuming, and often exacting Indian chick.”
  29. exacting
    severe and unremitting in making demands
    “Maybe this means Phil will be available for prom.” Violet raises her eyebrows at me. “For a certain hot, yet unassuming, and often exacting Indian chick.”
  30. sidle
    move unobtrusively or furtively
    Since then, he occasionally sidles up to me for a lunch-line chat while he chomps on a basket of cafeteria fries.
  31. twain
    two items of the same kind
    And at Batavia High School, never the twain shall meet.
  32. innuendo
    an indirect and usually malicious implication
    By the time we reach school, I’ve shared all the flirty memories—about Kareem, not Phil—that I know will thrill Violet. Kareem’s whispers and innuendo, his hand on my back, the PG-13 suggestive texts we exchanged after the wedding.
  33. iconoclastic
    characterized by attack on established beliefs
    “I know. But all my iconoclastic eggs are in the NYU basket. I can’t fight my mom on every front.”
  34. rakish
    marked by a carefree unconventionality or disreputableness
    I spy Phil’s reflection in my mirror. Hair artfully disheveled, grin adorably rakish, dimple bared.
  35. nonchalance
    the trait of remaining calm and seeming not to care
    I try to embody Aishwarya, hoping her elegance and nonchalance will rub off.
  36. terse
    brief and to the point
    “Lay on, Macduff,” I say. I’m a bit terse. And I’m quoting Macbeth.
  37. abscond
    run away, often taking something or somebody along
    “I’m walking Maya to first period. Unless, of course, you want to abscond with her?”
  38. mortification
    strong feelings of embarrassment
    My mortification is complete.
  39. threadbare
    thin and tattered with age
    He wipes his face with the threadbare motel towel and pulls on a pair of faded jeans and an army-green T-shirt.
  40. wiry
    lean but strong
    The shirt is loose on his wiry frame.
Created on Thu May 10 09:32:49 EDT 2018 (updated Thu May 10 09:50:13 EDT 2018)

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