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باغ‌های تسلّا

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باغ‌های تَسلا داستان ایران است در فاصلهٔ دو کودتا؛ کودتای رضا خان در سوم اسفند ۱۲۹۹ و کودتای ۲۸ مرداد ۱۳۳۲. طلا و سردار زن و شوهری اهل قمصر کاشان‌اند که راه مهاجرت را در پیش می‌گیرند و در حومهٔ تهران ساکن می‌شوند. آن‌ها به‌سختی می‌کوشند تا زندگی تازه‌ای برای خود در نزدیکی پایتخت بسازند و در این مسیر با وقایع سیاسی - اجتماعی روزگارشان نیز دست‌وپنجه نرم می‌کنند. با ظهور رضا شاه، رسم زمانه زیرورو می‌شود و زندگی طلا و سردار تحت‌تأثیر آن قرار می‌گیرد و در تلاطم‌های روزگار پیش می‌روند.

256 pages, Paperback

First published February 26, 2015

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About the author

Parisa Reza

4 books9 followers
Parisa Reza was born in Tehran in 1965 to a family of intellectuals and artists, and moved to France at the age of seventeen. She was awarded the Prix Senghor 2015 for her first novel, The Gardens of Consolation.

from http://www.europaeditions.co.uk/book/...

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
Profile Image for Bahareh.
33 reviews4 followers
September 14, 2024
"آزادی به چه‌کار آید وقتی بردگی این‌قدر مصیبت‌بار است و مصیبت چنین شاعرانه و شعر این‌قدر فارسی"
Profile Image for Morteza.
31 reviews2 followers
October 29, 2023
باغ های تسلا انشایی پیشا دبیرستانیه که پیرامون یک خانواده روستایی مهاجر به تهران در فاصله دو کودتای ۱۲۹۹ و ۱۳۲۸ نوشته شده.
مخاطب موردنظر نویسنده غیرایرانیه و بخش زیادی از کتاب صرفا معرفی ایران به خواننده ی خارجی اونم در خارج از فرم درست روایته.
خیلی از پاراگراف ها نویسنده کلا از داستان خارج میشه و توضیحات فرهنگی احمقانه میده، مثلا وسط روایت سال های دهه ۲۰، شروع میکنه به توضیح فلسفه سفره هفت سین و آداب و رسوم نوروز.
خیلی از شخصیت ها اصلا ساخته نمیشن و هیچ تصور کاملی ازش به مخاطب داده نمیشه.
داستان خم اکثر جاها کم میاره و نویسنده هر چیزی رو که نمیتونه با روایت منتقل کنه توی دیالوگ ها یا وسطای متن بین توضحیات اضافیش میاره.
عیب های دیگه ای هم هست که حال نداشتم یادداشت کنم یادم رفت. :))
Profile Image for Hannah.
458 reviews6 followers
November 29, 2020
This is a beautiful book. From its quietly emotional first half to its increasingly political and complex second half, it is a story that feels above all supremely real. It's hard to say whether it's a book about the facts of a drastically changing politics and society or whether that is just a backdrop for an extremely human and humane tale, but either way you come out of it learning something about the history of Iran and something about being a person, which is all to the good on both counts.
Profile Image for Brian Griffith.
Author 7 books301 followers
August 27, 2020
Reza writes like a cinematographer, painting scenes that reveal the inner experience of each character. Her work seems bent on recapturing an historical scene from the decades leading up to the overthrow of Iran’s elected government in 1953. But it turns into the most poignant critique of political ambition, that challenges us over what game we think we’re playing.
Profile Image for LiN.
187 reviews6 followers
August 23, 2019
มีความเฟเบิล อ่อนโยนอย่างบาดใจสมชื่อเรื่องเลย ว่าด้วยคู่รักวัยรุ่นที่ออกจากบ้านเกิดเพื่อหาอนาคตที่ดีกว่า ทุกอย่างแปลกใหม่และไม่สวยงามอย่างที่คิด เรียนรู้และปรับตัว สร้างเนื้อสร้างตัวอย่างไม่แยแสโลก ขณะที่อิหร่านก็เปลี่ยนไปในทางของมัน

หนังสือมีสองพาร์ทหลักๆ คือรุ่นพ่อรุ่นแม่ที่ไม่รู้หนังสือ ไร้เดียงสา เชื่อมั่นว่าทำงานหนักจะทำให้ชีวิตดีขึ้นสักวัน และทัลล่าก็สูญเสียมากจริงๆ กว่าจะมีความสุข

และบาห์รัมผู้เป็นลูกชาย ฉลาด เรียนสูง เต็มไปด้วยแรงขับสู่อนาคต การค้นหาตัวตน อดุมการณ์ และผู้หญิง มุมคิดต่อการเมือง การปฏิวัติคนละทางกันเลย

หนังสือที่มาแนวนี้หลายเรื่องเลยมักจะมีความขัดแย้ง แตกหัก แต่เรื่องนี้ไม่ใช่ พวกทัลล่าชอบชาห์ก็จริง แต่ไม่ได้อินมากไปกว่าเรื่องของปากท้อง เป็นตัวแทนของคนส่วนใหญ่ในประเทศที่อ่านเขียนไม่ออกในช่วงนั้น และบางส่วนในคนกลุ่มนี้เช่นกันก็อยากได้การปฏิวัติเพราะผู้นำอยู่ข้างเดียวกับศาสนา มันไม่ใช่เพียงความต่างของเจเนอเรชัน แต่เป็นความต้องการด้วย
Profile Image for Nuha.
Author 2 books25 followers
December 29, 2016
Maybe it was the translator, but this book was simply beautiful. I loved the details and societal and personal insights the author wove into the piece all the while keeping it light and readable. The writing completely immerses you in the Iranian countryside, growing and changing as the country went through its tumultuous changes.
Profile Image for Tannaz.
704 reviews51 followers
June 6, 2023
به نظرم همه باید این کتاب را در این روزگار زن زندگی آزادی بخوانیم. مخصوصا فصل آخرش را
Profile Image for Marvin.
2,093 reviews63 followers
December 26, 2018
This is my favorite type of novel: a deeply personal story with a backdrop of sociopolitical and/or intellectual history. In this case, we have an account of an Iranian peasant couple and their only son over the course of most of the first half of the 20th century, up until the CIA-orchestrated coup in 1953 that reinstated the Shah and ended Iran’s hopes for a secular democracy free of foreign interference. The story: Sometime around 1920, strong-willed, 12-year-old Talla follows her new husband from their remote Iranian village to a suburb of Tehran. There, she “puts her trust in God and her husband, and settles into her new home (51). Six years later, still childless (after a miscarriage and the death of a 6-month-old son), they move to another (mostly Armenian) village at the edge of the mountains north of Tehran. Three years of hard work later they are able to buy their own small house and garden. “Talla would never dream that she might be able to intervene in any way in national affairs. She would find the very idea as grotesque as blasphemy. Luckily, no one has told her about the right to vote, nor ever will, because it would make her angry, and she has no interest in women’s rights. She gets what she wants, either by force of will or by the power of her tears. And what she wants never flies so high that she has to go and fight her case before important men. Talla is mistress of her home, in her small room in the Armenian village, with her worldly goods that fit in one simple bundle and her husband whom she has in the palm of her hand” (70). The next paragraph, about her husband’s modest dreams and ambitions, is equally spare, simple, beautiful. Eventually, the focus shifts from the couple to the education and political awakening of their son. An interesting recurring theme throughout is how clothing was “a symbol of adhesion to--or rejection of--all or part of what inevitably happened: clashes between [all of the various] factions” in the country (193). The author gets increasingly preachy as the son’s story evolves--making the point that the political elites in Iran, both left and right, ignore what the 80% of Iranians who are illiterate think and feel about how their country is governed--but, all in all, it’s both affecting and informative.
Profile Image for Pardis10.
25 reviews
May 16, 2023
«ترجیح می‌دهیم با چاقویی در پشت حقیقت را به دیگران بگوییم. عده‌ای خیانت می‌کنند، در حالی که بقیه از مص��بت لذت می‌برند. و مصیبت قصه‌ی بی‌پایانی است. مصیبت فرصت سوگواری نمی‌دهد، مدام از خاکسترهایش برمی‌خیزد. باید ققنوس نشان ملی ما میشد. لذت می‌بریم که بخشی از مصیبتی فردی و جمعی، نمایشی و با پیچ و خم‌های بی‌پایان باشیم، ما هر روز همان داستان را با رنگ‌های جدید می‌بافیم و این وضعیت قرن‌ها ادامه دارد…»
Profile Image for Sohrab Najafi .
21 reviews2 followers
Read
February 18, 2023
به نسبت کتاب اعترافات یک آنارشیست واقعا رمان ضعیفی بود
Profile Image for neginnsa.
63 reviews1 follower
November 11, 2024
کتاب باغ های تسلا کتابی در باب انقلاب ایران از دوره ی رضا شاه به بعد است
این کتاب در ابتدا من را بسیار مجذوب کرد و تا جایی که درباره ی سرنوشت خانواده (پدر و مادر) صحبت می‌کرد واقعا جذاب بود... اما از وقتی سرنوشت بهرام پسر خانواده را توصیف می‌کند، موضوع جالب و جذاب نیست و چه بسا بسیار تکراری است .
کتاب باغ های تسلا برای خواننده ی قهار کتاب بسیار بسیار ساده است و بیشتر به درد نوجوان هایی می‌خورد که می‌خواهند از کتاب های رمان عاشقانه بیرون بیایند و کمی دنیای کتاب هایشان را گسترش دهند ....
بسیار بسیار ساده و ادبیات خیلی ابتدایی دارد .
کتاب بدی نیست ولی اگر شما کتابخوان حرفه ای هستید این کتاب را فراموش کنید 📚📚❤️❤️
Profile Image for Daniel Polansky.
Author 29 books1,218 followers
Read
September 14, 2018
Chronicling the lives of two generations of Iranians in the first half of the 20th century, Reza packs a tremendous amount into this slender novel. Perhaps too much? Her depiction of romantic love, and particularly of romantic love from the female end of things, is beautifully rendered, really a delight to read. A lot of the rest of it – dealing with the political developments in the years leading up to the CIA backed removal of Mossadegh, and the character of modern Iran – I thought was somewhat weaker. Not weak, but not as strong as romantic bits. Still, good stuff all in all, I’ll see what else I can find by the author.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
115 reviews
February 26, 2017
started beautifully but petered out for me in the end. till, A wonderful first novel. I look forward to reading more from her in the future.
Profile Image for Amene.
717 reviews79 followers
April 29, 2024
ملغمه‌ی دون‌ژوانیسم و سیاست و مصدق و بچه ی روستایی که دانشگاه می‌رود !
Profile Image for Tamara Agha-Jaffar.
Author 6 books281 followers
December 13, 2023
The Gardens of Consolation by Parisa Reza, translated from the French by Adriana Hunter, opens in 1918 in Iran. The narrative is in five sections. The first two sections focus on Talla and Sardar, their marriage and their departure from their small Iranian village to a suburb of Tehran. The third section transitions from Talla and Sardar to their son, Bahram. And the final two sections focus almost exclusively on Bahram, his shenanigans with women and his political activities.

The novel is set against the background of internal political upheaval in Iran while world powers jockey for power and for control of Iran’s rich natural resources. The politics becomes increasingly prominent as the novel progresses until it virtually dominates the latter sections as Bahram becomes embroiled with the various political factions demanding reforms as well as the expulsion of colonial powers.

The Talla and Sardar sections of the novel are engaging. Young and illiterate, they enter into their marriage having a modicum of knowledge of one another. But they develop a tender love toward one another, are fiercely loyal and protective of one another, endure challenges, work hard, share a profound appreciation for the beauty in their natural surroundings, demonstrate an unconditional love toward their son, and embrace unwavering faith in God. The images in these sections, especially of the young married couple as they cross the desert to their new home, are powerful. Talla and Sardar are simple, modest, genuine, honest peasants who show little understanding for or concern with the political upheavals swirling around them. Their life together is described in simplistic, almost child-like diction.

The latter sections focus on Bahram, his schooling and his young adulthood. A gifted, talented student, Bahram develops a reputation as a lady’s man. He spends much of his time using his good looks and charm to ensnare young women, calculating moves and words with precision to bring about the desired outcome. He becomes politically active, debating the pros and cons of various political factions. These explorations read almost like a history lesson. They deliver a crash course in Iranian politics and the violent coups of the early twentieth-century and conclude with the CIA-orchestrated coup of 1953.

Reza’s narrative transitions from an exploration of a humble peasant family with its rituals, traditions, and beliefs to a society experiencing vast changes domestically and internationally. It is both a deeply personal and touching love story and a sweeping panorama of the complex socio-political and economic history of early to mid-twentieth-century Iran.

My book reviews are also available at www.tamaraaghajaffar.com
Profile Image for Johanna Markson.
688 reviews5 followers
June 20, 2018
The Gardens of Consolation, Parisa Reza
This is a love story, a story of family, and a story of striving for a better life in post WWI Iran that is filled with wonderful characters, including an literate woman whose ferocious protectiveness towards her family makes her an unforgettable heroine.
In the 1920s, in a small remote village in Iran famous for producing rose water, two illiterate teenagers dreaming of a better life fall in love and marry. After Sardar travels to Tehran to establish himself he returns a few years later for Talla and they travel back to a suburb of the city where he has made a place for them as a successful Shepard. Talla knows little of the outside world and clings to her religious upbringing, but accepts her new home and role as wife. They try for a long time to have children but that is a struggle for them. From their uneducated and outsiders perspective as peasants, Talla and Sardar watch as Shahs fall and new leaders with more progressive ideas come into power with little understanding of what it all means.
Eventually they have a son who is lucky enough to be born at a time when schools are available to many, and Bahram is bright, athletic, artistic and has much intellectual promise. It is apparent from a young age he will go far and he is encouraged by the head of his school to pursue higher education. He does this while also following the politics of the great Iranian reformer of the time. His parents remain steadfast supports of his, but don't really know what is going on politically in their country, similar to the rest of the 80% of the illiterate population of Iran at the time.
I knew little of Iranian history, so reading this story was enlightening, yet it only covers a small portion of the country's history. The novel is beautifully written by someone who clearly is writing a love story to a place she once called home. Talla is a woman we can all understand, not educated, but queen of her home and protector of her family to the degree she is capable of doing so. Sardar too is a loving and caring father and husband, who provides for his family and achieves what he set out to do as a young man - he builds a successful life for himself and his family well beyond the confines of the small insular village he came from. Bahram, the only child, is spoiled, self interested, and does not do well by the women in his life. When, in the end, there is a enormous shift in the political control of the government, again, life changes for all as a darker time falls upon Iran.
Profile Image for کتاب‌فام.
86 reviews7 followers
July 22, 2022
🔶«پریسا رضا» این اولین رمانش را با دست‌مایه‌های تاریخی در آغاز قرن بیستم ایران و در بهشت گم‌شده‌ی قمصرِ کاشان باز می‌کند و خود، در مقام ریسنده‌ای قرقره می‌چرخاند و ماکویش را از کودتایی تا کودتایی دیگر دست‌به‌دست می‌کند، رج می‌زند و جلو می‌رود و در این بین، دهه‌ها تاریخ و فرهنگ جذاب ایرانی را برمی‌شمرد و از سقوط سلسله‌ی قاجار تا سقوط دولت دکتر مصدق را از چشم یک خانوداه‌ی دهقان به نمایش می‌گذارد.

🔶کتاب در اصل به زبان فرانسوی نوشته شده است و در مقام یک خواننده‌ی ایرانیِ فارسی‌زبان، حتی از نیمه‌اش هم که رد می‌شوی گاهی حس می‌کنی که در لابه‌لای داستان، به مرور آداب‌و‌رسوم ایرانی‌ها مشغولی اما، در نیمه‌ی سوم داستان است که «پریسا رضا» بالاخره دست از سر خواننده‌ی فرانسوی‌زبانش برمی‌دارد و با قوسی کج، لب می‌ترکاند و با درهم تنیدن تاروپود احوالات سیاسی مرتبط با کودتای ۲۸ مرداد ۱۳۳۲ و سرنگونی دولت دکتر مصدق، نقش گل کارش را تمام می‌کند.

🔶«باغ‌های تسلّا»، با همه‌ی هیاهویی که به تصویر می‌کشد اما، نوعی حماسه‌ی آرام است که با شکوه خاصّ خودش سرعت می‌گیرد و «رضا» حتی بی‌رحمانه‌ترین اعمال کتابش را هم با وقاری خوددارانه بیان می‌کند و سبک و لحنی را برای روایتش برمی‌گزیند انگار که می‌خواهد افسانه‌ای را بازگو کند؛ گاه جادویی، گاه آشنا و گاهی هم شوکه‌کننده‌ست. گاه جزئی‌ترین جزئیات را واکاوی می‌کند، گاهی از برخی می‌گذرد، در لحظات کوتاهی درنگ می‌کند و گاه هم از روی بازه‌های زمانی بزرگ‌تر می‌پرد.
و نباید هم غافل شد از نگاه هم‌دلانه‌ای که «رضا» در کتابش به زنان ایرانی دارد و انگار که به آن‌ها ادای دین می‌کند.

🔶«باغ‌های تسلّا» روایت زوج جوان دهقانی‌ست که دل به کویر می‌زنند و به دنبال دیدن دنیایی دیگر و ساختن آینده‌ای از جنس دیگر راهی تهران می‌شوند؛ زنده‌گی می‌کنند، می‌سازند و این شاید طراوت و سرزندگی «طلا» و وزن و آرامش «سردار» و به اشتراک، سادگی و بی‌پیرایه بودنشان باشد که آن جنبه‌ای ��ا به این کتاب می‌دهد که "زیبا" می‌خوانندش که تا آخرین صفحه هم ادامه پیدا می‌کند.

🔶«باغ‌های تسلّا» در ۲۰۱۵ برنده‌ی جایزه‌ی رمان‌اول «سِنگور» شد، در ۲۰۱۷ جایزه‌ی «بِلِه» را کسب کرد و جوایز دیگری چون «کِبِک»، «فرانس‌ماری» و «کِلِر» را هم در کیسه دارد و در دنیای نشر فرانسه، انتشار اولین کتاب یک نویسنده توسط انتشارات پرآوازه‌ی «گالیمار»، خود افتخار بزرگی‌ست.
Profile Image for Kathie.
352 reviews1 follower
May 8, 2018
Despite its historical references and its setting in the Iran in the time period of the 1920- 1950s, this book is primarily a love story between Sardar and Talla. Their families are illiterate shepherds but they have dreams of a better life. Their journey out of their remote village of Ghamsar leads them to a suburb of Tehran where they watch the constantly changing politics that leads to the eventual rise of Reza Shah Pahlavi. Their beloved only son, Bahram, demonstrates rare athletic and intellectual ablilities enabling his attendance at school, even to the university level. Bahram’s family dynamics lends itself to a rare glimpse into the culture of the country almost as much as Bahram’s pursuit of women. Having very little knowledge of the country and people of Iran beyond the politics of news, I was fascinated by the resolve and traditions demonstrated through the characters. For example, the average Iranian woman’s reaction to the Shah’s removal of the traditional chador from accepted apparel was not what I would have thought it would be. The author presents an inside view of resilience and resignation of a people besieged by rapidly evolving political and cultural change.




Profile Image for wally.
2,923 reviews5 followers
January 12, 2018
finished this one last night early evening 'bout 7:24 pee em, thursday, the 11th of january 2018, good read, i liked it, three stars. kindle...library loaner. i liked the historical context, iran...say, what...20s to the 50s and perhaps a bit beyond...or was it the mid-50s give or take. interesting, the cultural context...the mother blowing in the son's face, reciting something...from the koran? a word i forget. and they're protesting in iran again...much as happened here in this one, a few times. interesting the narration, not much dialogue, some, enough...an omniscient kind of narrator, the story covering the time of several generations. too...touches briefly on the idea of hollywood...one realizes how pervasive hollywood is, has been. what else? i dunno...good read. i enjoyed the story. (too...the fabled present tense...did not notice, really, until some point well into the story.)
August 17, 2019
Stranamente, fino circa a metà libro mi sono quasi annoiata a leggere. La storia ha continuato a procedere a rilento per un po' e i personaggi non mi entusiasmavano: Talla e Sardar si sposano, si separano, si riuniscono e partono insieme... si amano senza essersi mai parlati. Ok, ma mi sembra una forzatura, oppure una fortuna veramente fuori dal comune, mettiamola così. In questa parte, a tratti il mondo delineato sfocia nell'idilliaco per rivelarsi in seguito in tutta la sua brutalità tramite degli accadimenti nella vita dei personaggi.
In questa prima parte mi sono inoltre abituata a uno stile di scrittura straniante per quanto mi riguarda, disseminato da esclamazioni, frasi corte che sembrano incomplete e espressioni nella lingua dei protagonisti, tra cui un ritornello ripetuto più volte da Talla (che ho cercato su internet per capire e non posso dire di aver capito al 100%).
Da un certo punto in poi ho cominciato a notare che ogni capitolo portava il nome di una donna significativa nella vicenda e ho iniziato a seguire la storia diversamente.
Dopodiché, in parte mi sono abituata e in parte il ritmo ha accelerato: da questo momento mi sono sentita motivata a proseguire perché tutto sommato quello che avevo in mano era un bel libro, con una storia originale e dei personaggi che andavano via via delineandosi (finalmente).
Insomma, sono arrivata alla fine e siccome mi succede spesso di lasciar perdere dei libri prima di arrivarci non posso che lasciare un giudizio positivo.
Tuttavia, Giardini di Consolazione mi lascia anche qualche riserva per una prima parte a mio parere un po' zoppicante a livello di contenuto e macchinosa a livello di stile, che fortunatamente va sciogliendosi in una trama via via più fluida e in un finale che, a distanza di una settimana, mi lascia ancora con degli spunti di riflessione.
November 20, 2022
This is really two different stories. The first is a beautifully written love story of Sardar and Talla, two simple country people who overcome hardships and make a successful life in 1920s Iran. The narrative is full of interesting bits of information about village life in Ghamsar, vivid poetic imagery, and historical detail. There is also one shocking violent act I will have a hard time forgetting. This first part of the book is great story-telling. The couple has a son, Bahram, who grows up to be a brilliant intellectual and a supporter of Mossadegh. The problem is that Sardar and Talla mostly disappear from the novel while the author traces the rise of their son. There is even a long digression about the psychology of the women who were attracted to him. For me, the charm of the first part fizzled out by the end. Worth reading though, even with this frustration.
Profile Image for Hilda hasani.
158 reviews170 followers
January 4, 2023
صفحات اول کتاب را خواندم چیزی توی ذوقم می‌زد. از همان اول آلارم در ذهنم روشن شد که مخاطب این کتاب من نیستم. ظاهرا مخاطب این کتاب تمام افراد غیرایرانی‌ای هستند که نویسنده با تلاش زیاد دارد تلاش می‌کند تصویری از ایران در اوایل روی کار آمدن دولت پهلوی را برای آن‌ها ترسیم کند. تصویری کلیشه‌ای از روستای باصفای ایرانی، از خانواده‌هایی سنتی و زنانی که در پی بچه‌دار شدن و ازدواج هستند. شاید باید به نویسنده حق بدهم، بالاخره این کتاب در زبانی دیگر نوشته و ترجمه شده است، اما هیچ‌چیز باغ‌های تسلا مرا جذب نکرد. حس می‌کردم مؤلف در تلاش بوده تا تصویر ذهنی سال‌های دورش از ایران را زنده کند و از این حس نوستالژی تصویری برای خواننده نیز ترسیم کند.
کتاب را تمام نکردم، باتقریب می‌دانستم صفحات باقی مانده شبیه همین ۴۰ صفحه‌ی اول خواهد بود.
Profile Image for Tom Mooney.
791 reviews291 followers
February 27, 2018
THE GARDENS OF CONSOLATION by Parisa Reza.
An utterly beautiful Iranian novel which initially follows the lives of a very young couple, illiterate sheepherders, trying to forge a life together in 1920s Tehran. Their story tackles identity, feminism, ambition and family.
The book then migrates to their son Bahram who, with the benifit of Iran's new found liberalism and his access to education, becomes involved in his country's rapidly changing political scene.
Set against the backdrop of revolutions, counter-revolutions, war and foreign occupation, Reza's stunning novel presents a world few in the west know anything about. Thrilling, heartbreaking, hopeful, it is a novel to be cherished.
Profile Image for Viktoria.
217 reviews8 followers
December 2, 2017
Beautifully written; reads like poetry, with short and clear chapters. It’s a love story, coming of age story, and the tragic history of Iran from 1920 to 1950s. The illiterate couple represents a great number of Iranian people, going about their traditional business unaware of the larger picture of their country. The story unfolds thought the couple’s innocent eyes, as well as their son’s education process. It contrasts the blissful ignorance and knowledge that becomes eye opening but also dangerous. Memorable read.
Profile Image for Mela.
289 reviews28 followers
September 9, 2023
with beautiful prose reza brings us into the games of both politics and love. following talla and sardar, a shepherd, she shows us the way from a rural mountain paradise, pleasantly closed off from the world, to growing suburb filled with dreaming young radicals, including their now educated son bahram, yearning for soemthing progressive, and yet stifled as oft to happen. it smells of soil and roses and mulberries. i love a family saga, i love a book about shepherds and gardens, just enough joy to escape the mundane, romance with a trifling political backdrop, a la a map of love...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Chuck Redman.
Author 2 books15 followers
August 9, 2018
Ms. Reza, the author, wrote a well-researched family saga, rich in cultural, historical and political detail. What weakened the book was the drab style and too much reliance on straight narration, instead of dialogue and action. As a result, the characters were flat and two-dimensional, making them hard to really care about. Thus, a pretty good portrayal of Iranian society but lacking the elements that make for good fiction.
Profile Image for Ejaz Husseini.
257 reviews17 followers
March 10, 2021
Reza’s novel resonated with me on so many levels: Bahram’s sexual frustrations within his religious boundaries, his parents’ simplicity and faith, his own political ambition and academic brilliance, and the overall geography of the novel with its gardens, and mountain, and quiet siestas… all of it felt deeply like home to me – I want home I am yet to live in. Simply majestic!

Full review:
https://ejaz159.blogspot.com/2021/03/...
200 reviews5 followers
November 27, 2022
This is a story of an Iranian family that is transformed over the early part of the 20th century, as Iran goes through numerous major political changes. I very much liked the part of the book told from the perspective of Talla, as she makes her way from a remote village to a suburb of Tehran. It is harder to get into the later parts told from the perspective of her son, who matures into an unlikeable young adult, but the surrounding history and culture are very interesting.
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