A review by nathan_hetrick
Children of the Jacaranda Tree by Sahar Delijani

4.0

Received as a galley copy. This debut novel by Sahar Delijani tells the story of three generations of men and women in Tehran during and after the Revolution in Iran. Neda is born in prison, taken from her mother after only a few precious months. Three-year old Omid witnesses the arrests of his politically active parents. Twenty years after the violent purge in Tehran's prisons, Sheida learns that her father was one of those executed. The children of those imprisoned during the revolution witness a new wave of protest and political strife.

Overall I thought this book had strong writing and interesting story lines. What made it difficult for me to fully immerse myself in the lives of the characters was that I found the work a bit uneven. Some characters seem to have better character development than others. One of the stories of a character not mentioned above doesn't necessarily seem to fit in with the rest of the work as well. That being said, I thought it was an excellent debut from an author from whom I hope to read more.