Another vacation read: The Saffron Kitchen
Title: The Saffron Kitchen
Author: Yasmin Crowther
Copyright: 2006 by Penguin
Why/how did I pick it? I picked up a copy of The Saffron Kitchen while browsing at Armchair Books in Dennis, which is a lovely independent bookseller with a wide range of nonfiction and general fiction, but a lack of genre fiction IMO.
Did I like the cover? Yes, the cover is what drew my attention: the color, the minaret and Big Ben.
From the back cover:
A passionate novel about mothers and daughters, roots and exile, from the remote mountains of Iran to the rain-soaked suburbs of London
Rich and haunting, The Saffron Kitchen paints a stirring portrait of a family shaken by events from decades ago and worlds away. On a rainy day in London the dark secrets and troubled past of Maryam Mazar surface violently, with tragic consequences for her daughter, Sara, and her newly orphaned newphew, Saeed. Consumed with guilt, Maryam leaves her English husband and family and returns to the remote Iranian village where her story began. AIn a quet to piece their life back together, Sara follows her mother and finlally learns the terrible price Maryam once had to pay for her freedom, and of the love she left behind. Set against the brethtaking beauty of London and Iran, this stunning family drama "is a novel of tremendous hope" (Scotland on Sunday).
What did I think? TSK is one of those books that I can admire and recognize as good without really loving. It is general fiction or women's fiction and not a genre romance novel. But it was "romantic" in the same sort of sense that Gone With the Wind is. I kind of wish I'd known about Penguin's study guide (here), because I probably would've had a different approach to reading this book.
Despite the first person narration of Maryam, I felt very disconnected to her as the story teller. Was that intentional by the author, a symbol of how Maryam disassociated herself in order to survive? Even being told later what I'd already guessed had happened didn't lessen my impatience. I understood that she was damaged by the repercussions of a single innocent act, but every description of the intervening years described someone who was holding on to her pain rather than letting it go.
And I probably would've been more sympathetic, but for the line spoken by Ali kills that -- he tells Sara that Maryam must be permitted to choose her life (London or Iran) without being burdened by guilt (I agree) or obligation (WTF?). Obligation? Her husband -- the Englishman she chose -- is a self-imposed obligation that she should not be required to consider while having her midlife crisis? The nephew that she uprooted from Iran and had brought to London and whom she has now abandoned (another obligation she chose) should not be considered? Okay, that wasn't romantic, it was selfish.
When I step back from my personal opinion about Maryam, I can say this was a well-written book, with good use of POV and narration and a fantastic sense of place. But it isn't a keeper for me -- as KristieJ would say, It's Not You It's Me.
Author: Yasmin Crowther
Copyright: 2006 by Penguin
Why/how did I pick it? I picked up a copy of The Saffron Kitchen while browsing at Armchair Books in Dennis, which is a lovely independent bookseller with a wide range of nonfiction and general fiction, but a lack of genre fiction IMO.
Did I like the cover? Yes, the cover is what drew my attention: the color, the minaret and Big Ben.
From the back cover:
A passionate novel about mothers and daughters, roots and exile, from the remote mountains of Iran to the rain-soaked suburbs of London
Rich and haunting, The Saffron Kitchen paints a stirring portrait of a family shaken by events from decades ago and worlds away. On a rainy day in London the dark secrets and troubled past of Maryam Mazar surface violently, with tragic consequences for her daughter, Sara, and her newly orphaned newphew, Saeed. Consumed with guilt, Maryam leaves her English husband and family and returns to the remote Iranian village where her story began. AIn a quet to piece their life back together, Sara follows her mother and finlally learns the terrible price Maryam once had to pay for her freedom, and of the love she left behind. Set against the brethtaking beauty of London and Iran, this stunning family drama "is a novel of tremendous hope" (Scotland on Sunday).
What did I think? TSK is one of those books that I can admire and recognize as good without really loving. It is general fiction or women's fiction and not a genre romance novel. But it was "romantic" in the same sort of sense that Gone With the Wind is. I kind of wish I'd known about Penguin's study guide (here), because I probably would've had a different approach to reading this book.
Despite the first person narration of Maryam, I felt very disconnected to her as the story teller. Was that intentional by the author, a symbol of how Maryam disassociated herself in order to survive? Even being told later what I'd already guessed had happened didn't lessen my impatience. I understood that she was damaged by the repercussions of a single innocent act, but every description of the intervening years described someone who was holding on to her pain rather than letting it go.
And I probably would've been more sympathetic, but for the line spoken by Ali kills that -- he tells Sara that Maryam must be permitted to choose her life (London or Iran) without being burdened by guilt (I agree) or obligation (WTF?). Obligation? Her husband -- the Englishman she chose -- is a self-imposed obligation that she should not be required to consider while having her midlife crisis? The nephew that she uprooted from Iran and had brought to London and whom she has now abandoned (another obligation she chose) should not be considered? Okay, that wasn't romantic, it was selfish.
When I step back from my personal opinion about Maryam, I can say this was a well-written book, with good use of POV and narration and a fantastic sense of place. But it isn't a keeper for me -- as KristieJ would say, It's Not You It's Me.