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sidharthvardhan's review against another edition
5.0
International Booker long list always bring some amazing books whose existence I would never have known about. This one is a mixture of Marquez and Rushdi's varients of magical realism set in Iran. There might be a few imperfections and there are a few things I didn't fully understand but I loved most of it.
If you like reading about book lovers, you will love it, and there are Iranian fantasy creatures and ghosts and there are love stories and it is a novel about political and social atmosphere of Iran and there are ghosts and there is also a needlessly and ridiculously long sentence - just like this one but far bigger and the prose is simply beautiful. Sometimes it seemed that Azar was trying to use all literary devices ever invented but this is definitely one of best novels from among the few I have read from Iran.
If you like reading about book lovers, you will love it, and there are Iranian fantasy creatures and ghosts and there are love stories and it is a novel about political and social atmosphere of Iran and there are ghosts and there is also a needlessly and ridiculously long sentence - just like this one but far bigger and the prose is simply beautiful. Sometimes it seemed that Azar was trying to use all literary devices ever invented but this is definitely one of best novels from among the few I have read from Iran.
savaging's review against another edition
4.0
Some moments of this book were perfect. This sad and brutal story about political repression is also a bestiary of every kind of magical creature. I also love how it's brimming with heresy, just rampant and deliberate heresy.
Some moments felt strained. This is a book about the Iranian revolution written from the perspective of those who were the wealthiest before the revolution happened. There's real disgust with the idea that their vast wealth and mountains of treasure would now be in the grubby hands of commoners. It's like: wait, is she trying to get me to be on Khomeini's side? I don't want that. Uncomfortable.
Some moments felt strained. This is a book about the Iranian revolution written from the perspective of those who were the wealthiest before the revolution happened. There's real disgust with the idea that their vast wealth and mountains of treasure would now be in the grubby hands of commoners. It's like: wait, is she trying to get me to be on Khomeini's side? I don't want that. Uncomfortable.
whydoihaveto's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
tjwallace04's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
4.5
‘Beeta says that Mum attained enlightenment at exactly 2:35 p.m. on August 18, 1988, atop the grove’s tallest greengage plum tree on a hill overlooking all fifty-three village houses, to the sound of the scrubbing of pots and pans which pulled the grove out of its lethargy every afternoon.’
This book has been patiently waiting for me to read it for some years. That’s not uncommon: unless I live to be 120 or thereabouts, I suspect I’ll shuffle off this mortal coil with a reading list that would require a further century to complete. Yes, unlikely magical thinking. But once I picked up this novel, I was transported into a world where magical realism and harsh reality are brought together and conveyed to the reader in a form of classical Persian storytelling.
This novel is set in Iran in the period after the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Roza, the mother of Sohrab, Beeta and Bahar, receives enlightenment in the greengage tree at the exact time that her son Sohrab is hanged under the instructions of Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini. The family fled Tehran in 1979, but they are not safe from the unrest even in the small village of Razan. Our narrator, Bahar, is a ghost. She was killed in Tehran in 1979.
How does it work, this blend of reality and magic? In my reading, the magic leavens the reality without discounting the brutality of it. In addition to the impacts on Iran, the disappearances of people and the hangings, the rules about head coverings and the ubiquitous uteloads of men with firearms, each member of Bahar’s family has their own reaction to the events that have overwhelmed their country. Roza leaves her family after climbing down from the greengage tree. Her husband, Hushang withdraws, immersing himself in books before returning to Tehran. Beeta becomes a mermaid, while Bahar moves restlessly, and observes.
Of course, there is more to the story. There are other characters, there are djinns, there are elements of the natural world as well. And somehow, Ms Azar draws these (seemingly) disparate elements together to deliver a rich story which reflects an ancient storytelling tradition which I chose to see as hope for a different future.
Highly recommended.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
secanno's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
krtlszlv's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
papaveriepapere's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
dutchcrunch's review against another edition
4.0
Many passages here were 5 star quality however, I have given this book 4 stars due to some passages being lost in translation—particularly the more politically-focused sections and those that diverted away from the novel’s central family. It also could have used a few more revisions to knock out issues with syntax and unintentional repetitive passages.
The novel is deeply rooted in political trauma that has destroyed a beautifully interconnected Iranian family. It showcases how external conflicts (war, revolution, national disaster) can have internal consequences to the family unit. I found the sections about Roza’s disappearance and Beeta’s transformation to be particularly profound. I found it overall to be reminiscent of Ana Castillo’s /So Far from God/; as well as the obvious connection to /One Hundred Years of Solitude/.
*Some of the most exquisite magical realism I have ever experienced*
The novel is deeply rooted in political trauma that has destroyed a beautifully interconnected Iranian family. It showcases how external conflicts (war, revolution, national disaster) can have internal consequences to the family unit. I found the sections about Roza’s disappearance and Beeta’s transformation to be particularly profound. I found it overall to be reminiscent of Ana Castillo’s /So Far from God/; as well as the obvious connection to /One Hundred Years of Solitude/.
*Some of the most exquisite magical realism I have ever experienced*