Entering contests for books can give one a very eclectic reading list, even more than belonging to book clubs. There is no telling which book you might win. This book was one contest win. It sounded interesting when I entered the contest, and it proved to be even more interesting when I received it.
This book, short-listed for the Pen-America literary award, is a literary novel, an historical novel and a woman's novel. It is the life story of an Iranian woman during the Iranian revolution of the early 1980s. She married a man who worked in the Iranian nuclear commission while volunteering on an international disarmament group. While husband and wife loved each other, they found it hard to talk with each other.
Amineh, our heroine, grew up on a rose farm in a small village. The farm produced rose water, rose oils and rose petals. Her parents died when she was 8, and she blamed herself for the accident that killed them. When she reached college age, her grandmother also died. She and her siblings rented the farm to a cousin, so they had an income. While in college, she met Farzad, the man she would marry, at a political gathering where people were discussing the death of a classmate at the hands of the Shah's secret police.
Amineh's marriage is both satisfying and unsatisfying. She believes she will only bring pain and death to those she loves. She finds she dearly loves the members of her new family. She does what she can to show them her love while trying to keep them safe by not getting too close.
There is enough of the history of Iran to keep the reader aware of the times. Amineh is not political herself. She supports her husband, but doesn't understand the danger his side work could put her and her children in. When he suddenly dies, she is forced to make important decisions very quickly.
I'm not a big reader of women's novel or literary novels. This one kept me turning the pages so I could see what happened next, and I was happy to do that. I enjoyed the story. I think you will too. I also think this will be a bid book club book next year.
This book, short-listed for the Pen-America literary award, is a literary novel, an historical novel and a woman's novel. It is the life story of an Iranian woman during the Iranian revolution of the early 1980s. She married a man who worked in the Iranian nuclear commission while volunteering on an international disarmament group. While husband and wife loved each other, they found it hard to talk with each other.
Amineh, our heroine, grew up on a rose farm in a small village. The farm produced rose water, rose oils and rose petals. Her parents died when she was 8, and she blamed herself for the accident that killed them. When she reached college age, her grandmother also died. She and her siblings rented the farm to a cousin, so they had an income. While in college, she met Farzad, the man she would marry, at a political gathering where people were discussing the death of a classmate at the hands of the Shah's secret police.
Amineh's marriage is both satisfying and unsatisfying. She believes she will only bring pain and death to those she loves. She finds she dearly loves the members of her new family. She does what she can to show them her love while trying to keep them safe by not getting too close.
There is enough of the history of Iran to keep the reader aware of the times. Amineh is not political herself. She supports her husband, but doesn't understand the danger his side work could put her and her children in. When he suddenly dies, she is forced to make important decisions very quickly.
I'm not a big reader of women's novel or literary novels. This one kept me turning the pages so I could see what happened next, and I was happy to do that. I enjoyed the story. I think you will too. I also think this will be a bid book club book next year.