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32nd out of 249 books
—
293 voters
Pomegranate Soup
Beneath the holy mountain Croagh Patrick, in damp and lovely County Mayo, sits the small, sheltered village of Ballinacroagh. To the exotic Aminpour sisters, Ireland looks like a much-needed safe haven. It has been seven years since Marjan Aminpour fled Iran with her younger sisters, Bahar and Layla, and she hopes that in Ballinacroagh, a land of “crazed sheep and dizzying...more
Paperback, 240 pages
Published
September 12th 2006
by Random House Trade Paperbacks
(first published 2005)
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I hated every second of this pseudo magic realist ouevre. The writing is trying so hard to be eloquent and poetic but it's totally Hallmark. The writer graduated from the adjective school of writing. Yuck. Then again it's an easy read if you're in bed with the flu.
on the plus side: great recipes. little glimpse into both Iranian and Irish life.
on the plus side: great recipes. little glimpse into both Iranian and Irish life.
7 likes · like · see review
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Nov 15, 2008
Rebecca
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who love to cook and read
Recommended to Rebecca by:
Holyn
This book was very wonderful for what it was--a delicious mixture of food and the personal journeys of three sisters who escape Iran on the eve of the revolution and eventually make their way to Ireland. This book pleasantly reminded me of another book about the magic of food from another culture--The Mistress of Spices.
We learn of the sisters' experiences in Iran through flashbacks throughout the book, and I really appreciated Mehran's light touch in her descriptions of the sisters' painful me...more
We learn of the sisters' experiences in Iran through flashbacks throughout the book, and I really appreciated Mehran's light touch in her descriptions of the sisters' painful me...more
7 likes · like · see review
Sometimes it is good to suspend belief and surrender your imagination to a form of magical realism which can transcend cultural barriers.
Three orphaned sisters, who fled Iran seven years earlier, have found their way to a small town in Ireland where they hope to make a home. They bring with them their heritage, their demons and their hopes for a better future. Marjan, Bahar and Layla open the Babylon Cafe in the heart of Ballinacroagh’s Main Mall. The smell of traditional Persian cooking wafting...more
Three orphaned sisters, who fled Iran seven years earlier, have found their way to a small town in Ireland where they hope to make a home. They bring with them their heritage, their demons and their hopes for a better future. Marjan, Bahar and Layla open the Babylon Cafe in the heart of Ballinacroagh’s Main Mall. The smell of traditional Persian cooking wafting...more
Journey with the Aminpour sisters as they embark on a new chapter of their lives in Marsha Mehran’s novel, Pomegranate Soup. Marjan, Bahar and Layla escape amidst the Iran Revolution and open up the Babylon Café in a small Irish village where they awaken sleeping dreams and ignite new possibilities. Anyone who has been an outsider in a close-knit community can relate to the sisters who are faced with suspicion and discrimination in their new home. Moreover, they continue to be haunted by the pas...more
I really enjoyed this book and its insight to both the Persian and Irish cultures. The author presents very interesting and entertaining character descriptions, although sometimes I wondered why she went into such depth on descriptions of minor characters, but overall I really appreciated the character descriptions. The food was another character, and that was very well described -- I already had an appreciation for Persian cuisine, and these descriptions made me want to hurry to my favorite Per...more
This book would be great to add to the global perpectives curriculum at school. Interesting book in that it shows the culture of people in a different country. Three sisters flee from the revolution in Iran in the late 70s. They settle in Ireland which I thought was a most unlikely place for them. But they open the Bombay Cafe and try to start a new life. The most interesting parts of the book for me were the flashbacks to their life in Iran and the escape to Ireland, although their start in lif...more
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This charming book is set in small-town Ireland in the 1980s. It centers around a trio of sisters who have made their way from Iran after the revolution. They're haunted by their pasts, but they're also blazing a trail for a new, more cosmopolitan Ireland as they open a restaurant and broaden the horizons of the townspeople. It's reminiscent of Maeve Binchy, but with a more exotic flair (complete with recipes). A light read.
This was a delicious summer read. Part "Journey from the Land of No", part "The Taste of Chocolate", Marsha Mehran tells a magical tale of 3 sisters who change the village of Ballinacroagh, Ireland when they move to town after fleeing the Iranian revolution. In the process of becoming part of the community and influencing the people who live there, they begin to come to terms with their own painful past. Each chapter starts with a recipe for a Persian delicacy which is incorporated into the stor...more
This is a light and easy book about three Iranian sisters who flee during the revolution and ultimately end up in Ireland where they start over by opening a cafe. It took me a good 75 pages to get into the story and then, by the time I did, it seemed like it ended right away. The conflicts and issues wrapped up a little too neatly and quickly, but I liked the characters and the interaction between cultures.
Jun 06, 2007
Amanda
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
foodies, cooks, and anyone who likes a little magical realism.
If you liked Chocolat, Like Water for Chocolate or Under the Tuscan Sun, all books where the sensual pleasures of cooking and food are celebrated, you will like Pomegratate Soup.
It's the story of three Iranian expatriate sisters who move to a tiny town in Ireland after spending years in England. They open a restaurant featuring the foods of their native land. Some residents of the village welcome them, while others, for a variety of reasons, distrust and dislike them.
I understand a sequel is be...more
It's the story of three Iranian expatriate sisters who move to a tiny town in Ireland after spending years in England. They open a restaurant featuring the foods of their native land. Some residents of the village welcome them, while others, for a variety of reasons, distrust and dislike them.
I understand a sequel is be...more
Great Story! Its one of those books that has a good story, characters you can relate to, and you learn something as well!
Three Iranian sisters move to small town Ireland to start over....that is the premise of this book. Mehran then weaves in the magic of Persian food and lore to make this story sing. It's a little like Chocolat and Like Water for Chocolate, but I enjoyed every minute of this read. The inclusion of recipes for each of the dishes was interesting to me as well - makes me want to try Persian food (lamb and all).
I have mixed feelings about this book. The history of the Aminpour sisters' experiences and escape from Iran during the revolution and the Persian recipes woven into the story were both very interesting. The narrator's opinions about Ireland, where the sisters eventually settle and open a cafe, seemed tainted with narrow mindedness, possibly the author's own prejudices. And the conclusion of the novel seemed slapped together. Still, I did root for the Aminpour sisters and the success of their Ba...more
Set in Ireland in 1986, the three Aminpour sisters escaped the Islamic Revolution in Iran seven years earlier, fleeing first to a refugee camp in Pakistan, finally getting visas to England, and then moving to Ireland after Bahar’s violent and vengeful husband tracks them down in London. In Ballinacroagh they open a Persian food restaurant, the Babylon Café. Each chapter begins with a recipe that plays a role in the chapter’s narrative. Food is part of the memories, personal history and culture,...more
Pomegranate Soup: A novel by Mesha Mehran
The Aminpour sisters from Iran arrives in the small village Ballinacroagh in Ireland. Having fled some years ago from the turmoil of Iran the sisters thinks of the village as a safe haven.
Marjan Aminpour along side her younger sisters Bahar and Layla have bought an old pasty shop and decides to creating a Persian cafe called Babylon. The scents of cinnamon, rosebuds and cardamon float out into the streets and changes the lives of the people in the village...more
The Aminpour sisters from Iran arrives in the small village Ballinacroagh in Ireland. Having fled some years ago from the turmoil of Iran the sisters thinks of the village as a safe haven.
Marjan Aminpour along side her younger sisters Bahar and Layla have bought an old pasty shop and decides to creating a Persian cafe called Babylon. The scents of cinnamon, rosebuds and cardamon float out into the streets and changes the lives of the people in the village...more
An enjoyable book. I enjoyed it for two reasons. It gave me a glimpse of a small town in Ireland near the coast. I also enjoyed the story of a small family group of immigrants and their journey to find a new home in a world that is often unwelcoming and ridden with negative superstitions about the unknown. I must say something about the recipes that are presented at the beginning of every chapter. The recipes are mouth watering and emotionally medicinal all at once. I enjoyed the competence and...more
Three sisters flee Tehran for a small town in Ireland. When Marjan, Behar and Layla take over the former Papa’s Pastries to open Ballinacroagh’s first “foreign” restaurant, they are met with curious gazes and even hostility. Tom McGuire, their next-door neighbor, is furious that his big plans have been thwarted by these “Arabs” and he is determined to bully everyone in town until they girls are run off. But he doesn’t count on the magical powers of the Marjan’s exotic recipes, and the intoxicati...more
I have rather mixed feelings about this book. I did enjoy reading it, but was bothered by some things. First, it seemed unoriginal - too similar to Chocolat in many ways (I refer to the movie - I haven't read the book.) Second, the inhabitants of the Irish village were portrayed in a rather demeaning, stereotypical way. To me they often seemed almost like caricatures- not real people. Last, the author's attempts at magical realism just didn't work for me. Though lovely, the magical realism parts...more
Delectable! I think Marsha Mehran weaves a very convincing story of three Iranian women who escaped the Iranian revolution. The sisters flee to England and eventually end up in a small village in Ireland in 1986. They start a small Iranian cafe. Each chapter starts with an Iranian recipe (the recipes had my mouth watering!) and then the chapter weaves the food into the narrative. I liked the mixture of the history lessons on Iranian food, culture and revolution. Each sister must confront the mem...more
I was on the waiting list at the library to borrow this book for AGES, weeks and weeks, and when i finally got the chance to read it, i knocked it over in a couple of days. Its a quick, simple read, but i really enjoyed it. Ive recently discovered what is known as 'food fiction', which this book falls under, and i really love the concept.
The story of three Iranian girls who escape the Iranian revolution in the 1970s and move to Ireland to set up a cafe, i loved every second of this book. I wasn...more
The story of three Iranian girls who escape the Iranian revolution in the 1970s and move to Ireland to set up a cafe, i loved every second of this book. I wasn...more
This book was given to me by my dear friend Cathy, and I imagine that she bought it because of its title: Pomegranate Soup. Ah this is the best soup I have ever eaten. She and I had it as a small Persian café, Soltan Banno, in San Diego, CA. This was close to the last time I visited with Cathy, and what a memorable time.
The book is a story about three Persian sisters who escaped Iran and came to Ireland to open up a Persian café where they served this wonderful soup and other Iranian delights. A...more
The book is a story about three Persian sisters who escaped Iran and came to Ireland to open up a Persian café where they served this wonderful soup and other Iranian delights. A...more
I thought this was a lovely book. A charming story full of life, about three Iranian sisters who move to an Irish village in the 1980s and start up a café of Iranian food, creating irritation in some villagers and enthusiasm in many others. The story is warm and human, and the description of the foods and the spices almost makes me smell and taste them myself! They also sounded so delicious that I had to scan all the recipes in the beginning of the chapters so that I might try some of them mysel...more
1 like · like · see review
My copy of the book has a better cover...but if you want to read a cultural book with a good ending on a weekend, this book will keep you laughing and reflecting on creative prose. Mehran's descriptions of her neighbors, fear of the unknown, forbidden and first love and unfortunately, domestic abuse are relevant across all walks of life. If you love cooking or have specific comfort foods, you'll relate to this book.
Nov 24, 2009
Gloria
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Younger adult women; 20s and 30s
Recommended to Gloria by:
Book Club
Shelves:
cozy-reads
Great author comments follow below. This book has elements of a "cozy read" though it admittedly has some serious overtones, more than what you might find in a typical cozy read. The lighter side includes the bonds between three sisters, starting up one's own business, making new friends, starting a new school, first love, cooking, etc. The heavier elements are inferred, but include racism, rape, spousal abuse, revolution, and relocation.
From Marsha Mehran (Nov 09): I want to start out by sendin...more
From Marsha Mehran (Nov 09): I want to start out by sendin...more
I always tend to pick up books which I have absolutely no idea about beforehand. Even though I meticulously prepare a list of 'to read' books, I eventually end up reading something completely different. There was no exception in this case.
I was positively surprised after having read a couple of chapters to such an extend I couldn't put the book down. The story itself was alluring - three young girls escaping a revolution in Iran as a result coming to a small village in the west of Ireland, all...more
I was positively surprised after having read a couple of chapters to such an extend I couldn't put the book down. The story itself was alluring - three young girls escaping a revolution in Iran as a result coming to a small village in the west of Ireland, all...more
Feb 25, 2008
Nicole
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
For fans of Chocolat or Like Water for Chocolate
Set in the 1980s, three Iranian sisters set up a cafe in an Irish village to escape demons from the Iranian Revolution. First viewed with suspicion by most of the village, the sisters slowly carve a place for themselves. Lush descriptions of food and sympathetic characters make this an enjoyable and quick read. I am pleased to see that the author's second book is coming out in May 2008.
This is the story of 3 sisters who fled Iran during the Islamic fundamentalist takeover and opened a cafe in a remote Irish village. The perspectives of the sisters on their experiences, and their slow acceptance by the narrow-experienced villagers, were beautifully written. I also loved the insights into the rich texture of Iranian culture, customs and cooking (a book with recipes!)
Enjoyable read that I would definitely recommend. How do three sisters from Iran end up in an Irish village? You'll have to read it to find out. The storyline kept me pulled in and although I felt the middle sister's story was left a bit unresolved, I still liked it. The descriptive prose that the author uses to describe food kind of made me hungry for something different other than the usual koobideh kabobs I order when I have Persian food hehe. Sometimes, though, the author was *so* descriptiv...more
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The recipes sounded yummy, and the book was fine overall, but the plot reminded me of a cross between Chocolat and the TV series Ballykissangel. I guess I'm a little tired of novels and films about outsiders coming to towns or villages full of quirky inhabitants. I did like the sisters' backstory; it gave me a look into a period that I know little about.
Part autobiographical, part cookbook, part travelogue, part fanciful fairy tale, this book is surprisingly engaging. Born in Tehran, the author and her family escaped the Iranian revolution by moving to Argentina. Mehran's three fictitious Iranian females also escape brutal conditions in Iran by emigrating first to London and then to the tiny Irish village of Ballinacroagh where they open a restaurant. The mix of tantalizing Persian cuisine with quixotic Irish culture proves somewhat comical and...more
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Marsha Mehran escaped the upheaval of the Iranian revolution with her family. She grew up in the United States, Australia and Argentina, where her parents operated a Middle Eastern café. She lives in both Brooklyn and Ireland and is at work on her third novel.
More about Marsha Mehran...
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