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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
I'd like to give it 3 1/2 stars. The first third of the book was rather plodding, but after that I found that I liked the main characters, thought the cooking aspect of the book was fascinating, and really wanted to know how everything had turned out.
I guess I'm a sucker for novels with food as a dominant theme, even Chick Lit. The author included recipes before each chapter, where they played a significant role in the story. The book was interesting enough (I finished it in a couple of days), but it didn't reach greatness. I enjoyed it most for its observations on the cultures of Iranian exiles and small-town Ireland.
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Rape, Violence
very neoliberal, colonial. gave me weird vibes the whole time. the copy i picked up had a little author q&a section and she’s a settler in both so called “Australia” and so called “America” and seems ignorant that both are stolen land and not a real country worthy of praise. also her parents are not “politically or ideologically” inclined? ok. if u live on this earth u r political lol, it’s not an option 💀 ur inaction and ignorance is political. anyway very mid, disappointing. oh and what the fuck was the weird obsession with blue (and green) eyes??? ew ew ew so gross. also alot of the character descriptions felt fatphobic and weird about women and women’s bodies
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Xenophobia
Moderate: Fatphobia
This story involves 3 Iranian sisters who have fled to Ireland after the revolution. They try to rebuild their lives opening a cafe in a small town. Small town life gives them the hiding place they need, but also brings on tensions between themselves and the residents.
The story starts a bit slow, but soon picks up. The characters are wonderful and a bit quirky, which I like. Their is a bit of mysticism mixed in with the culinary delights. The story reminded me a bit of Chocolat by Joanne Harris and Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen.
It's well worth sticking with this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it once I got into it.
The story starts a bit slow, but soon picks up. The characters are wonderful and a bit quirky, which I like. Their is a bit of mysticism mixed in with the culinary delights. The story reminded me a bit of Chocolat by Joanne Harris and Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen.
It's well worth sticking with this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it once I got into it.
This novel is about three sisters, refugees from Iran, who end up opening a café in Ireland where they prepare dishes from their home country - smells and tastes never before encountered by their customers. We begin just before opening, and we carry on through trials and tribulations as they encounter reactions from one end of the spectrum to the other. There are flashbacks to the horror of revolutionary Iran, and there no punches pulled here - there are some truly frightening and foul things described - but this is offset by both the rays of hope in some of the people they meet, and the comedic element (you know, so awful you've got to laugh) of small-town pomposity and prejudice in the form of the bullying pub owner and the malicious gossips.
Very nicely done! And for those who like to cook there are some recipes dotted throughout. The descriptions of food are glorious, and there are not too many of them.
Very nicely done! And for those who like to cook there are some recipes dotted throughout. The descriptions of food are glorious, and there are not too many of them.
emotional
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A lovely, unusual story of strangers in a strange land. Three sisters who fled Iran barely ahead of the revolution at the end of the 1970s end up in a small town in Ireland in the mid-80s where they hope to start a new life on their own terms at last. The unexpected Persian/Irish mixture really works. The characters are vivid and interesting and even the villains have sympathetic aspects.
I loved the summary and was inclined to like this despite it sounding like a retread of Chocolat, but nope. The first 50 pages spent entirely too much time setting up characters as caricatures, aligning qualities like size and incontinence with gossipy and close-minded. Nope.