false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1188123498m/1775799.jpg 104528 12 In <i>The Saffron Kitchen</i>, Yasmin Crowther has captured, with uncanny accuracy and grace, the deep confusion and conflict visited upon a mother and her daughter by their respective histories. The mother, Maryam, is an Iranian woman, daughter of a general and member of a well-respected family during the Shah's reign. When she became separated from her family at the start of the revolution and was sheltered chastely overnight by Ali, her father's servant, her life was forever changed. Disowned by her father, she moves to Tehran to become a nurse and then to London, where she meets and marries Edward, a fine and gentle man who adores her. When the story begins, their daughter, Sara, born in England, married to an Englishman, and ignorant of her mother's haunted history, is newly pregnant. When she miscarries, during a dramatic confrontation with her mother and her young Iranian cousin, years of secrets and pretending unravel at last. <p> Maryam decides to go to Iran, to distance herself from these events. What follows, in Crowther's revelatory manner, is a perfect portrayal of a half-life, one lived only on the surface. Maryam comes into her own when she goes back to her village; the sights, sounds, and smells all beckon to her with their sweet familiarity. England falls away, with all its confusing customs and strange language, as does Edward, with his so very different background. Beckoned by her mother, Sara comes to visit and to ferret out the particulars of her mother's past. The question remains: will Maryam return to Edward and England or stay where she is once again at home? <p> Crowther writes with great insight about attempting to cast off one's past--and the impossibility of doing so. The saffron kitchen of the title is a lovely evocation, both symbolic and actual, of what gets left behind and of one daughter's willingness to occupy both worlds. <I>--Valerie Ryan</I> 1774144 28 12 2006 The Saffron Kitchen total:671|5:88|4:258|3:243|2:67|1:15| 671 2350 1016 200 104528 0670038113 9780670038114 588 176 3.50 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171513144m/104528.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104528.The_Saffron_Kitchen 1 2 false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Nov 16 18:54:05 -0800 2007 Fri Nov 16 19:12:04 -0800 2007 Reading Lolita in Tehran, did the same thing to me - although at least I felt like I was part of a graduate-level book club. It was smart, well-written and academic - ...more...]]> 104528 0670038113 9780670038114 588 176 3.50 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171513144m/104528.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104528.The_Saffron_Kitchen 4 2 false Wed Apr 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Feb 13 22:39:55 -0800 2008 Wed Apr 30 21:31:15 -0700 2008 more...]]> 104528 0670038113 9780670038114 588 176 3.50 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171513144m/104528.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104528.The_Saffron_Kitchen 2 1 false Sat Dec 27 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 04 16:27:04 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 28 09:19:13 -0800 2008 At times I was distracted by the differing points of view - Crowther switches from first person to third person and back again. There were some chapters where I wasn't sure w...more...]]> 104528 0670038113 9780670038114 588 176 3.50 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171513144m/104528.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104528.The_Saffron_Kitchen 3 0 false Tue Sep 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 05 08:26:31 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 05 08:36:17 -0700 2009
I found the story a little difficult to fo...more...]]> 1775799 0143112740 9780143112747 51 16 3.50 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1188123498m/1775799.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1775799.The_Saffron_Kitchen 3 2 false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Tue Dec 18 18:45:40 -0800 2007 Fri Apr 17 06:59:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> 104528 0670038113 9780670038114 588 176 3.50 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171513144m/104528.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104528.The_Saffron_Kitchen 4 0 false Fri Aug 14 01:31:17 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 14 01:45:53 -0700 2009
The story finds a family living in Britain, with family ties to Iran. The attempts of the mother to reconcile her two disparate lives, before & after lea...more...]]> 104528 0670038113 9780670038114 588 176 3.50 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171513144m/104528.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104528.The_Saffron_Kitchen 5 0 false Thu Aug 27 14:23:18 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 27 14:26:31 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1775799 0143112740 9780143112747 51 16 3.50 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1188123498m/1775799.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1775799.The_Saffron_Kitchen 4 1 false Wed Apr 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 23 23:35:41 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 29 20:26:47 -0700 2009 more...]]> 104528 0670038113 9780670038114 588 176 3.50 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171513144m/104528.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104528.The_Saffron_Kitchen 5 0 false Mon Nov 23 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 02 09:36:44 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 23 09:44:21 -0800 2009 more...]]> 1775799 0143112740 9780143112747 51 16 3.50 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1188123498m/1775799.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1775799.The_Saffron_Kitchen 4 1 false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jan 25 11:12:03 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 25 11:13:12 -0800 2009 more...]]> 104528 0670038113 9780670038114 588 176 3.50 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171513144m/104528.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104528.The_Saffron_Kitchen 0 0 false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jan 05 18:08:01 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 05 18:08:45 -0800 2009
Maryann Mazar is Iranian, but she was forced to leave Iran because her father, one of the top generals serving under the Shah, thought she had disg...more...]]> 576779 0349119554 9780349119557 17 5 3.50 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175956632m/576779.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/576779.The_Saffron_Kitchen 1 1 true Thu Mar 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jan 04 10:01:49 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 30 10:38:02 -0700 2009
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Showroom fiction - Omid, our tiler, is from Persia; yes, you read that right, from Persia not Iran. When he calls in he says 'this is the Prince of Persia calling'. He left today to visit his sister in Hounslow and cal...more...]]> 104528 0670038113 9780670038114 588 176 3.50 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171513144m/104528.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104528.The_Saffron_Kitchen 4 0 false Sat Sep 06 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Sep 04 02:59:36 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 06 07:51:05 -0700 2008 more...]]> 104528 0670038113 9780670038114 588 176 3.50 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171513144m/104528.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104528.The_Saffron_Kitchen 4 1 false Sat Aug 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 30 15:18:02 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 30 15:19:49 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1775799 0143112740 9780143112747 51 16 3.50 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1188123498m/1775799.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1775799.The_Saffron_Kitchen 3 1 false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 18 21:09:56 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 27 10:17:39 -0800 2008 more...]]> 104528 0670038113 9780670038114 588 176 3.50 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171513144m/104528.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104528.The_Saffron_Kitchen 4 0 false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Oct 14 09:39:14 -0700 2007 Sun Oct 14 09:42:39 -0700 2007 more...]]> 104528 0670038113 9780670038114 588 176 3.50 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171513144m/104528.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104528.The_Saffron_Kitchen 4 1 false Wed May 07 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri May 09 13:16:08 -0700 2008 Fri May 09 13:26:21 -0700 2008 more...]]> 104528 0670038113 9780670038114 588 176 3.50 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171513144m/104528.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104528.The_Saffron_Kitchen 3 0 false Fri Nov 06 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 23 08:01:11 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 23 08:07:03 -0800 2009 more...]]> 576779 0349119554 9780349119557 17 5 3.50 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175956632m/576779.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/576779.The_Saffron_Kitchen 4 0 false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 12 02:51:25 -0800 2007 Thu Jan 17 04:19:37 -0800 2008 more...]]> 576779 0349119554 9780349119557 17 5 3.50 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175956632m/576779.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/576779.The_Saffron_Kitchen 4 0 false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 11 03:52:26 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 11 03:53:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1775799