The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree | 
He thought Tehran was also like an addict.
A city addicted to smoke, to humiliation, to poverty and torpor whose slightest effort to sober up gave rise to panic. Tehran was an addict that wanted to get clean but lacked the will, and after several days of sobriety would begin using again with even greater intensity. It was an addiction to oppression, an addiction to poverty, and an addiction to inhibition and nostalgia...
... the flames rippled over the pages, catching first the old books with the brown paper whose smell I loved so much. I vividly remember how Danko's Burning Heart was engulfed in flames that then licked at Luce's skirt who, desperately trying to protect herself from the fire in the pages of Romain Rolland's book, held Pierre tightly to her breast...
pickOne part historical fiction one part modern fairy tale, this book is lyrical and haunting. Ms. Azar gives a voice to those who have been silenced while telling stories that feel like they‘ve been told and retold for generations. Truth, steeped with magic and lore.
so-soStarting with the Revolution in #Iran, this book reveals the violence and fear a family has to live with while they cling to each other. Some of the writing is terrific, but I really struggled with the structure, which meanders so much it reads more like vignettes than a smooth narrative. But that cover sure gets an A+!
#ReadingAsia2021
pickMagical realism set during the years following the 1979 Iranian revolution. Bahar, a young ghost, narrates the story of her family, the village to which they fled, and the country at large. Weaving in myths and fairy-tales into her family‘s experiences, with the very real events thrusting forward causing moments of crises. It‘s a story told out-of-order, adding layers of imagery and emotions building the last 100 pages when it becomes mesmerizing.
#SleighTheShelves Day 31: Greek dessert with Turkish coffee is always cause for #celebration. All kinds of deliciousness.
#SleighTheShelves Day 27: We had a Greek Christmas #Feast while we were in Abu Dhabi for Christmas Day. Super filling. We missed Greek food so much - no Greek resto in the quaint provincial little town where we live, sadly.
#SleighTheShelves Day 14: #Tree figures a lot in this narrative, even though I am only one chapter in. Paired with yummy Indian food - lamb biryani, samosa, daal, papadom, cheese kulcha, and deep fried prawn.
so-soI didn‘t like this one as much as I expected to. I am always very interested in Middle Eastern contemporary history and was gripped (and shocked) by the facts about the Islamic revolution of 1978 but I felt less interested in the plot. The narrator is the ghost of a 13 years old girl but it all felt too detached for me to relate to any of the main characters even though I was interested in them.
The book would make a good one for #ReadingAsia2021
Beeta says that Mom attained enlightenment at exactly 2:35 pm 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 scrubbing of pots and pans, a ruckus that pulled the grove out of its lethargy every afternoon.
#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl
#TheEnlightenmentoftheGreengageTree
#ShokoofehAzar
#ThankfulThoughts Day 5: I feel #blessed to be living in a place where there are multiple flavours of kunafa. This one is graffiti kunafa (left) and espresso kunafa (right). Both yum.
#WordsOfOctober Day 25: There is #Light in Enlightenment. Last day of our weekend (Sundays are our Mondays) calls for mixed kunafa, saraya bread, and wardat al sham. And yes, coffee. 💕🧚🏼♀️
#FallFinds Day 25: There really is no #formula for a hearty weekend meal but this Japanese dish of mixed seafood tempura, fried shrimp dumpling, and kung pao shrimp with peanuts washed down with classic bobba tea seemed to have done the trick. Yum.
pickI took a full month to finish this one. I did not feel compelled to pick it up every day but when I did have time to devote to this magical realism/historical fiction book it was time well spent. I wish I knew more about Persian myth and folklore. Like most magical realism, you just have to let go and flow with the story. There are images from this novel that will stay with me a long time! Beautiful physical book by Europa. 4 🌟
Book Mail! Today I received my giveaway win copy of The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shookoofeh Azar courtesy of The Reading Women podcast and Europa Editions. This book sounds interesting and I can‘t wait to dive in. #giveawaywin
These are the books I picked up at my local indie / bookshop.com for Women in Translation month. Only read one this month, lol, but looking forward to the other two in the coming weeks!
#IntegrateYourShelf
pickThis is my first pick of the #WomenInTranslation month. It has so much to say, and Shookoofeh Azar and the anonymous translator use every page to do so rather beautifully. The book tells the story of a family caught in the religious fervour of a revolution in a fast changing country. It is interspersed with commentary not just on religion, politics, corruption, feminism, education, socialism, but also with jinns, ghosts, and other supernatural.
pickWhat an incredible book, and I mean that both in its quality and its believability. Stuffed with amazing magical realism, themes from Iranian philosophy, ghosts, djinns, and otherworldly experiences, this book is all over the place in the best way. And yet it also deals a hefty dose of sobering reality in addressing the oppressive regime after the Revolution. Powerful, shocking, even strange to American readers, (Cont in comments)
I am having SUCH trouble with this book. It's the selection for my fave indie book store's book club (meeting on Tuesday night), but I'm 75 pages in and it feels like such a chore to read. The translation feels very clunky and the story meanders and I just have no clue what's going on or where this book is going.
Help! Has anyone read this? Does it get better at some point?? Convince me not to bail!
So excited for this late Mother's Day gift. So many great books to read!!
so-soThis book seemed like an Iranian version of ‘100 Years of Solitude‘. It follows a family from the 1979 revolution to present day Iran. There is lots of magical realism and the book is populated with characters from the local folklore-djinns and soothsayers, mermaids and ghosts. Unfortunately, I found that the fantastical overwhelmed the story of the family to the point I often couldn‘t tell what was going on. 3⭐️ #bookerinternational2020 #hoopla
pick#BookerInternational2020
An epic, sprawling story in just 270 pages, telling the history of a family, a village and a country, #Iran, in the time since the 1979 ‘Arab Invasion‘ that changed everything. This is a world where the living live alongside their ghosts and jinns (magical realism alert!), where stories unfold inside stories - and they matter - and where so much has been lost.
👇
Well, that took a turn I wasn‘t expecting 🤔
pickAn amazing book! Gives you a real and immediate experience of the loves and losses of a family in Tehran! The prose is beautiful and the magic realism is astounding! Moments of dark and brutal history are interspersed with moments of real humour. Beautifully captures the impact of the revolution in Iran!
Of course I‘d already started this for #BookerInternational2020 before committing to clearing what I‘m reading. Isn‘t the cover just 🥰? The translator has chosen to stay anonymous.
Apparently I‘d stacked this a couple of years ago when it was published in Australia and nominated for the Stellas.
Set in post-revolutionary #Iran, already I‘m learning of the 1988 Iranian massacre. Possible magical realism involved. And Mom‘s at the top of a tree.
pickA gently meandering and beautifully written story, Azar gave me a glimpse of an Iran unknown to me. Magic realist in feel, with it‘s ghosts and jinns, fables and fairytales, woven into the daily fabric of life. It is also a love letter and eulogy to the history and culture of Iran and to the individuals - the ordinary, everyday people, who could be any one of us - who have experienced loss and suffering on a massive scale. Enchanting and powerful.
pickInteresting story, takes upon tales interwoven throughout. It reminded me a lot of Jen Campbell‘s short story collection. 4⭐️ #holidaybooktwo
I was lucky enough to listen to a talk by this author, Shokoofeh Azar, about the story behind how she wrote this book. There were a few passages that were read from the book that made me want to go read it straight away, so bought it that same day. #magicalrealism
pickHere‘s another #aussiesrule2018 book for you, I‘m going to use this for prompt 20 (writing about another country or culture). Based on the events coming after the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, this novel is so evocative and beautifully written. We follow a family through their hardships, which is told in a way that echoes traditional storytelling. I loved, loved, loved this book. (Also shortlisted for the Stellas!)
#CoverLove
Paintings by Shokoofeh Azar: The Poetry Night, Two Birds & Red Bird and Moon
Design by Debra Billson
