<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<GoodreadsResponse>
	<Request>
		<authentication>false</authentication>
		    <method><![CDATA[]]></method>
	</Request>
	
<book>
  <id>513617</id>
  <title><![CDATA[Pomegranate Soup: A Novel]]></title>
  <isbn><![CDATA[0812972481]]></isbn>
  <isbn13><![CDATA[9780812972481]]></isbn13>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729m/513617.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729s/513617.jpg</small_image_url>
  <description><![CDATA[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 roads,” they might finally find a home.<br/><br/>From the kitchen of an old pastry shop on Main Mall, the sisters set about creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuous wafts of cardamom, cinnamon, and saffron float through the streets–an exotic aroma that announces the opening of the Babylon Café, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage and Guinness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of Ballinacroagh’s uncrowned king, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old pastry shop for years and failing, Thomas is enraged to find it occupied–and by foreigners, no less. <br/><br/>But the mysterious, spicy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk, and soon, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil soup, abgusht stew, and rosewater baklava–and with the transformation in her sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems to be less nervous. <br/><br/>And in the stand-up-comedian-turned-priest Father Fergal Mahoney, the gentle, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, and the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey, the sisters find a merry band of supporters against the close-minded opposition of less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more, and the lives they left behind in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present.  <br/><br/>Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumph,s of two distinct cultures, <strong>Pomegranate Soup</strong> is an infectious novel of magical realism. This richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes, is a delectable journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.]]></description>
  <work>
  <best_book_id type="integer">513617</best_book_id>
  <books_count type="integer">19</books_count>
  <desc_user_id type="integer" nil="true"></desc_user_id>
  <id type="integer">837186</id>
  <media_type nil="true"></media_type>
  <original_language_id type="integer" nil="true"></original_language_id>
  <original_publication_day type="integer" nil="true"></original_publication_day>
  <original_publication_month type="integer" nil="true"></original_publication_month>
  <original_publication_year type="integer">2005</original_publication_year>
  <original_title>Pomegranate Soup: A Novel</original_title>
  <rating_dist>total:522|5:90|4:198|3:173|2:50|1:10|</rating_dist>
  <ratings_count type="integer">522</ratings_count>
  <ratings_sum type="integer">1875</ratings_sum>
  <reviews_count type="integer">813</reviews_count>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">161</text_reviews_count>
</work>

  <average_rating><![CDATA[3.59]]></average_rating>
  <ratings_count><![CDATA[455]]></ratings_count>
  <text_reviews_count><![CDATA[142]]></text_reviews_count>
  
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/513617.Pomegranate_Soup_A_Novel]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/513617.Pomegranate_Soup_A_Novel]]></link>
  <authors>
    <author>
    <id>285453</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Marsha Mehran]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1220160585p5/285453.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1220160585p2/285453.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/285453.Marsha_Mehran]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.53</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>737</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>237</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>
    <reviews start="1" end="20" total="812">
      <review>
  <id>34452174</id>
    <user>
    <id>1332585</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Pixietweet]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Los Angeles, CA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1332585-pixietweet]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1216159311p3/1332585.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1216159311p2/1332585.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">513617</id>
  <isbn>0812972481</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780812972481</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">142</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Pomegranate Soup: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729m/513617.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729s/513617.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/513617.Pomegranate_Soup_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.59</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>455</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[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 roads,” they might finally find a home.<br/><br/>From the kitchen of an old pastry shop on Main Mall, the sisters set about creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuous wafts of cardamom, cinnamon, and saffron float through the streets–an exotic aroma that announces the opening of the Babylon Café, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage and Guinness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of Ballinacroagh’s uncrowned king, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old pastry shop for years and failing, Thomas is enraged to find it occupied–and by foreigners, no less. <br/><br/>But the mysterious, spicy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk, and soon, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil soup, abgusht stew, and rosewater baklava–and with the transformation in her sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems to be less nervous. <br/><br/>And in the stand-up-comedian-turned-priest Father Fergal Mahoney, the gentle, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, and the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey, the sisters find a merry band of supporters against the close-minded opposition of less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more, and the lives they left behind in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present.  <br/><br/>Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumph,s of two distinct cultures, <strong>Pomegranate Soup</strong> is an infectious novel of magical realism. This richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes, is a delectable journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>1</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Oct 03 12:26:47 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Oct 03 12:30:07 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[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.<br/><br/>on the plus side: great...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/34452174">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/34452174]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/34452174]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>37317204</id>
    <user>
    <id>250717</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Rebecca]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Bossier City, LA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/250717-rebecca]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1186631833p3/250717.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1186631833p2/250717.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">513617</id>
  <isbn>0812972481</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780812972481</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">142</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Pomegranate Soup: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729m/513617.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729s/513617.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/513617.Pomegranate_Soup_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.59</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>522</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[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 roads,” they might finally find a home.<br/><br/>From the kitchen of an old pastry shop on Main Mall, the sisters set about creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuous wafts of cardamom, cinnamon, and saffron float through the streets–an exotic aroma that announces the opening of the Babylon Café, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage and Guinness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of Ballinacroagh’s uncrowned king, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old pastry shop for years and failing, Thomas is enraged to find it occupied–and by foreigners, no less. <br/><br/>But the mysterious, spicy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk, and soon, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil soup, abgusht stew, and rosewater baklava–and with the transformation in her sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems to be less nervous. <br/><br/>And in the stand-up-comedian-turned-priest Father Fergal Mahoney, the gentle, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, and the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey, the sisters find a merry band of supporters against the close-minded opposition of less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more, and the lives they left behind in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present.  <br/><br/>Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumph,s of two distinct cultures, <strong>Pomegranate Soup</strong> is an infectious novel of magical realism. This richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes, is a delectable journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[people who love to cook and read]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[Holyn]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Nov 15 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Nov 10 07:16:32 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Nov 15 13:37:16 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[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--...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37317204">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37317204]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37317204]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>32234920</id>
    <user>
    <id>283014</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jennifer (JC-S)]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Australia]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/283014-jennifer-jc-s]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1255315583p3/283014.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1255315583p2/283014.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">513617</id>
  <isbn>0812972481</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780812972481</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">142</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Pomegranate Soup: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729m/513617.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729s/513617.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/513617.Pomegranate_Soup_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.59</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>522</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[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 roads,” they might finally find a home.<br/><br/>From the kitchen of an old pastry shop on Main Mall, the sisters set about creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuous wafts of cardamom, cinnamon, and saffron float through the streets–an exotic aroma that announces the opening of the Babylon Café, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage and Guinness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of Ballinacroagh’s uncrowned king, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old pastry shop for years and failing, Thomas is enraged to find it occupied–and by foreigners, no less. <br/><br/>But the mysterious, spicy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk, and soon, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil soup, abgusht stew, and rosewater baklava–and with the transformation in her sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems to be less nervous. <br/><br/>And in the stand-up-comedian-turned-priest Father Fergal Mahoney, the gentle, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, and the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey, the sisters find a merry band of supporters against the close-minded opposition of less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more, and the lives they left behind in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present.  <br/><br/>Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumph,s of two distinct cultures, <strong>Pomegranate Soup</strong> is an infectious novel of magical realism. This richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes, is a delectable journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="librarybooks" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[ ]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Sep 09 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Sep 07 03:42:17 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Sep 09 23:35:54 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Sometimes it is good to suspend belief and surrender your imagination to a form of magical realism which can transcend cultural barriers.<br/>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 t...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32234920">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32234920]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32234920]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>29215408</id>
    <user>
    <id>394619</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Tina]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/394619-tina]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">513617</id>
  <isbn>0812972481</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780812972481</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">142</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Pomegranate Soup: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729m/513617.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729s/513617.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/513617.Pomegranate_Soup_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.59</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>522</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[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 roads,” they might finally find a home.<br/><br/>From the kitchen of an old pastry shop on Main Mall, the sisters set about creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuous wafts of cardamom, cinnamon, and saffron float through the streets–an exotic aroma that announces the opening of the Babylon Café, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage and Guinness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of Ballinacroagh’s uncrowned king, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old pastry shop for years and failing, Thomas is enraged to find it occupied–and by foreigners, no less. <br/><br/>But the mysterious, spicy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk, and soon, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil soup, abgusht stew, and rosewater baklava–and with the transformation in her sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems to be less nervous. <br/><br/>And in the stand-up-comedian-turned-priest Father Fergal Mahoney, the gentle, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, and the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey, the sisters find a merry band of supporters against the close-minded opposition of less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more, and the lives they left behind in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present.  <br/><br/>Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumph,s of two distinct cultures, <strong>Pomegranate Soup</strong> is an infectious novel of magical realism. This richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes, is a delectable journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[people who love to cook and read]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Aug 04 10:06:24 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Aug 04 14:13:07 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[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 possibiliti...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29215408">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29215408]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29215408]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>5721111</id>
    <user>
    <id>133646</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Adrienne]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Sunnyvale, CA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/133646-adrienne]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1211209278p3/133646.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1211209278p2/133646.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">513617</id>
  <isbn>0812972481</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780812972481</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">142</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Pomegranate Soup: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729m/513617.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729s/513617.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/513617.Pomegranate_Soup_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.59</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>522</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[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 roads,” they might finally find a home.<br/><br/>From the kitchen of an old pastry shop on Main Mall, the sisters set about creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuous wafts of cardamom, cinnamon, and saffron float through the streets–an exotic aroma that announces the opening of the Babylon Café, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage and Guinness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of Ballinacroagh’s uncrowned king, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old pastry shop for years and failing, Thomas is enraged to find it occupied–and by foreigners, no less. <br/><br/>But the mysterious, spicy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk, and soon, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil soup, abgusht stew, and rosewater baklava–and with the transformation in her sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems to be less nervous. <br/><br/>And in the stand-up-comedian-turned-priest Father Fergal Mahoney, the gentle, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, and the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey, the sisters find a merry band of supporters against the close-minded opposition of less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more, and the lives they left behind in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present.  <br/><br/>Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumph,s of two distinct cultures, <strong>Pomegranate Soup</strong> is an infectious novel of magical realism. This richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes, is a delectable journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="good-reads-for-adults" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[adults]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Sep 05 12:57:43 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Sep 05 13:07:56 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[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 charac...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5721111">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5721111]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5721111]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>17019981</id>
    <user>
    <id>729287</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Toni]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Sykesville, MD]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/729287-toni]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-U-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">513617</id>
  <isbn>0812972481</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780812972481</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">142</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Pomegranate Soup: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729m/513617.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729s/513617.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/513617.Pomegranate_Soup_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.59</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>522</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[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 roads,” they might finally find a home.<br/><br/>From the kitchen of an old pastry shop on Main Mall, the sisters set about creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuous wafts of cardamom, cinnamon, and saffron float through the streets–an exotic aroma that announces the opening of the Babylon Café, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage and Guinness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of Ballinacroagh’s uncrowned king, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old pastry shop for years and failing, Thomas is enraged to find it occupied–and by foreigners, no less. <br/><br/>But the mysterious, spicy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk, and soon, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil soup, abgusht stew, and rosewater baklava–and with the transformation in her sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems to be less nervous. <br/><br/>And in the stand-up-comedian-turned-priest Father Fergal Mahoney, the gentle, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, and the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey, the sisters find a merry band of supporters against the close-minded opposition of less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more, and the lives they left behind in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present.  <br/><br/>Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumph,s of two distinct cultures, <strong>Pomegranate Soup</strong> is an infectious novel of magical realism. This richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes, is a delectable journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Mar 29 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Mar 04 15:37:48 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Mar 29 15:53:29 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[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...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17019981">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17019981]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17019981]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>37933534</id>
    <user>
    <id>1721828</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jodi]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Chicago, IL]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1721828-jodi]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">513617</id>
  <isbn>0812972481</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780812972481</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">142</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Pomegranate Soup: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729m/513617.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729s/513617.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/513617.Pomegranate_Soup_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.59</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>522</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[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 roads,” they might finally find a home.<br/><br/>From the kitchen of an old pastry shop on Main Mall, the sisters set about creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuous wafts of cardamom, cinnamon, and saffron float through the streets–an exotic aroma that announces the opening of the Babylon Café, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage and Guinness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of Ballinacroagh’s uncrowned king, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old pastry shop for years and failing, Thomas is enraged to find it occupied–and by foreigners, no less. <br/><br/>But the mysterious, spicy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk, and soon, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil soup, abgusht stew, and rosewater baklava–and with the transformation in her sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems to be less nervous. <br/><br/>And in the stand-up-comedian-turned-priest Father Fergal Mahoney, the gentle, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, and the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey, the sisters find a merry band of supporters against the close-minded opposition of less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more, and the lives they left behind in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present.  <br/><br/>Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumph,s of two distinct cultures, <strong>Pomegranate Soup</strong> is an infectious novel of magical realism. This richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes, is a delectable journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Nov 17 06:22:13 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Nov 17 06:22:38 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[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 ho...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37933534">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37933534]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37933534]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>30955807</id>
    <user>
    <id>171423</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Lisa]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/171423-lisa]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">513617</id>
  <isbn>0812972481</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780812972481</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">142</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Pomegranate Soup: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729m/513617.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729s/513617.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/513617.Pomegranate_Soup_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.59</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>522</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[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 roads,” they might finally find a home.<br/><br/>From the kitchen of an old pastry shop on Main Mall, the sisters set about creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuous wafts of cardamom, cinnamon, and saffron float through the streets–an exotic aroma that announces the opening of the Babylon Café, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage and Guinness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of Ballinacroagh’s uncrowned king, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old pastry shop for years and failing, Thomas is enraged to find it occupied–and by foreigners, no less. <br/><br/>But the mysterious, spicy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk, and soon, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil soup, abgusht stew, and rosewater baklava–and with the transformation in her sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems to be less nervous. <br/><br/>And in the stand-up-comedian-turned-priest Father Fergal Mahoney, the gentle, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, and the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey, the sisters find a merry band of supporters against the close-minded opposition of less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more, and the lives they left behind in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present.  <br/><br/>Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumph,s of two distinct cultures, <strong>Pomegranate Soup</strong> is an infectious novel of magical realism. This richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes, is a delectable journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Aug 22 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Aug 22 20:41:36 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Aug 22 20:52:59 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This was a delicious summer read.  Part &quot;Journey from the Land of No&quot;, part &quot;The Taste of Chocolate&quot;, 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 be...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/30955807">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/30955807]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/30955807]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>37239959</id>
    <user>
    <id>1390144</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Christine]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Arlington, VA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1390144-christine]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">513617</id>
  <isbn>0812972481</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780812972481</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">142</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Pomegranate Soup: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729m/513617.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729s/513617.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/513617.Pomegranate_Soup_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.59</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>522</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[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 roads,” they might finally find a home.<br/><br/>From the kitchen of an old pastry shop on Main Mall, the sisters set about creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuous wafts of cardamom, cinnamon, and saffron float through the streets–an exotic aroma that announces the opening of the Babylon Café, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage and Guinness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of Ballinacroagh’s uncrowned king, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old pastry shop for years and failing, Thomas is enraged to find it occupied–and by foreigners, no less. <br/><br/>But the mysterious, spicy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk, and soon, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil soup, abgusht stew, and rosewater baklava–and with the transformation in her sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems to be less nervous. <br/><br/>And in the stand-up-comedian-turned-priest Father Fergal Mahoney, the gentle, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, and the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey, the sisters find a merry band of supporters against the close-minded opposition of less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more, and the lives they left behind in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present.  <br/><br/>Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumph,s of two distinct cultures, <strong>Pomegranate Soup</strong> is an infectious novel of magical realism. This richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes, is a delectable journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Nov 15 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Nov 09 05:25:27 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Nov 16 10:18:53 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[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 iss...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37239959">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37239959]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37239959]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>1710719</id>
    <user>
    <id>118177</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Amanda]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Pikesville, MD]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/118177-amanda]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1198028683p3/118177.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1198028683p2/118177.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">513617</id>
  <isbn>0812972481</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780812972481</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">142</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Pomegranate Soup: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729m/513617.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729s/513617.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/513617.Pomegranate_Soup_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.59</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>522</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[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 roads,” they might finally find a home.<br/><br/>From the kitchen of an old pastry shop on Main Mall, the sisters set about creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuous wafts of cardamom, cinnamon, and saffron float through the streets–an exotic aroma that announces the opening of the Babylon Café, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage and Guinness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of Ballinacroagh’s uncrowned king, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old pastry shop for years and failing, Thomas is enraged to find it occupied–and by foreigners, no less. <br/><br/>But the mysterious, spicy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk, and soon, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil soup, abgusht stew, and rosewater baklava–and with the transformation in her sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems to be less nervous. <br/><br/>And in the stand-up-comedian-turned-priest Father Fergal Mahoney, the gentle, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, and the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey, the sisters find a merry band of supporters against the close-minded opposition of less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more, and the lives they left behind in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present.  <br/><br/>Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumph,s of two distinct cultures, <strong>Pomegranate Soup</strong> is an infectious novel of magical realism. This richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes, is a delectable journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[foodies, cooks, and anyone who likes a little magical realism.]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jun 06 08:30:06 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jun 06 08:38:31 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[If you liked <strong>Chocolat</strong>, <strong>Like Water for Chocolate</strong> or <strong>Under the Tuscan Sun</strong>, all books where the sensual pleasures of cooking and food are celebrated, you will like <strong>Pomegratate Soup</strong>.<br/>It's the story of three Iranian expatriate sisters who move to a tiny town in Ireland after spending years in Englan...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1710719">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1710719]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1710719]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>39133585</id>
    <user>
    <id>1768879</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Claire]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1768879-claire]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">513617</id>
  <isbn>0812972481</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780812972481</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">142</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Pomegranate Soup: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729m/513617.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729s/513617.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/513617.Pomegranate_Soup_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.59</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>522</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[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 roads,” they might finally find a home.<br/><br/>From the kitchen of an old pastry shop on Main Mall, the sisters set about creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuous wafts of cardamom, cinnamon, and saffron float through the streets–an exotic aroma that announces the opening of the Babylon Café, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage and Guinness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of Ballinacroagh’s uncrowned king, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old pastry shop for years and failing, Thomas is enraged to find it occupied–and by foreigners, no less. <br/><br/>But the mysterious, spicy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk, and soon, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil soup, abgusht stew, and rosewater baklava–and with the transformation in her sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems to be less nervous. <br/><br/>And in the stand-up-comedian-turned-priest Father Fergal Mahoney, the gentle, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, and the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey, the sisters find a merry band of supporters against the close-minded opposition of less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more, and the lives they left behind in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present.  <br/><br/>Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumph,s of two distinct cultures, <strong>Pomegranate Soup</strong> is an infectious novel of magical realism. This richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes, is a delectable journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Dec 02 13:45:18 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Dec 02 13:46:32 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Great Story! Its one of those books that has a good story, characters you can relate to, and you learn something as well!]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39133585]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39133585]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>20891304</id>
    <user>
    <id>694034</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Elise]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Salt Lake City, UT]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/694034-elise]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1199588049p3/694034.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1199588049p2/694034.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">513617</id>
  <isbn>0812972481</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780812972481</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">142</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Pomegranate Soup: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729m/513617.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729s/513617.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/513617.Pomegranate_Soup_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.59</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>522</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[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 roads,” they might finally find a home.<br/><br/>From the kitchen of an old pastry shop on Main Mall, the sisters set about creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuous wafts of cardamom, cinnamon, and saffron float through the streets–an exotic aroma that announces the opening of the Babylon Café, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage and Guinness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of Ballinacroagh’s uncrowned king, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old pastry shop for years and failing, Thomas is enraged to find it occupied–and by foreigners, no less. <br/><br/>But the mysterious, spicy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk, and soon, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil soup, abgusht stew, and rosewater baklava–and with the transformation in her sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems to be less nervous. <br/><br/>And in the stand-up-comedian-turned-priest Father Fergal Mahoney, the gentle, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, and the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey, the sisters find a merry band of supporters against the close-minded opposition of less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more, and the lives they left behind in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present.  <br/><br/>Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumph,s of two distinct cultures, <strong>Pomegranate Soup</strong> is an infectious novel of magical realism. This richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes, is a delectable journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[everyone]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Apr 24 10:26:05 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Apr 24 10:29:58 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I am very much fascinated with books influenced by characters and themes centralizing on the Middle East. This was a very creative look at three Iranian sisters and their exile from their native country and past. I very much enjoyed the story itself, but so much more than that I was enthralled by th...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20891304">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20891304]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20891304]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>36506119</id>
    <user>
    <id>1570061</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Holyn]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Killeen, TX]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1570061-holyn]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1248809458p3/1570061.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1248809458p2/1570061.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">513617</id>
  <isbn>0812972481</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780812972481</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">142</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Pomegranate Soup: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729m/513617.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729s/513617.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/513617.Pomegranate_Soup_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.59</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>522</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[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 roads,” they might finally find a home.<br/><br/>From the kitchen of an old pastry shop on Main Mall, the sisters set about creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuous wafts of cardamom, cinnamon, and saffron float through the streets–an exotic aroma that announces the opening of the Babylon Café, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage and Guinness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of Ballinacroagh’s uncrowned king, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old pastry shop for years and failing, Thomas is enraged to find it occupied–and by foreigners, no less. <br/><br/>But the mysterious, spicy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk, and soon, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil soup, abgusht stew, and rosewater baklava–and with the transformation in her sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems to be less nervous. <br/><br/>And in the stand-up-comedian-turned-priest Father Fergal Mahoney, the gentle, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, and the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey, the sisters find a merry band of supporters against the close-minded opposition of less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more, and the lives they left behind in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present.  <br/><br/>Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumph,s of two distinct cultures, <strong>Pomegranate Soup</strong> is an infectious novel of magical realism. This richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes, is a delectable journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Oct 29 13:57:01 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Nov 01 05:38:46 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count>1</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[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...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/36506119">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/36506119]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/36506119]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>29323782</id>
    <user>
    <id>1264180</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Carol]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Olympia, WA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1264180-carol]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1228874133p3/1264180.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1228874133p2/1264180.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">513617</id>
  <isbn>0812972481</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780812972481</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">142</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Pomegranate Soup: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729m/513617.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729s/513617.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/513617.Pomegranate_Soup_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.59</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>522</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[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 roads,” they might finally find a home.<br/><br/>From the kitchen of an old pastry shop on Main Mall, the sisters set about creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuous wafts of cardamom, cinnamon, and saffron float through the streets–an exotic aroma that announces the opening of the Babylon Café, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage and Guinness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of Ballinacroagh’s uncrowned king, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old pastry shop for years and failing, Thomas is enraged to find it occupied–and by foreigners, no less. <br/><br/>But the mysterious, spicy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk, and soon, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil soup, abgusht stew, and rosewater baklava–and with the transformation in her sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems to be less nervous. <br/><br/>And in the stand-up-comedian-turned-priest Father Fergal Mahoney, the gentle, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, and the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey, the sisters find a merry band of supporters against the close-minded opposition of less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more, and the lives they left behind in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present.  <br/><br/>Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumph,s of two distinct cultures, <strong>Pomegranate Soup</strong> is an infectious novel of magical realism. This richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes, is a delectable journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Aug 05 11:04:33 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Aug 05 11:25:36 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[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, se...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29323782">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29323782]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29323782]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>49802436</id>
    <user>
    <id>2143789</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Lcbogota]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Bogot, 33, Colombia]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2143789-lcbogota]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-U-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">513617</id>
  <isbn>0812972481</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780812972481</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">142</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Pomegranate Soup: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729m/513617.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729s/513617.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/513617.Pomegranate_Soup_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.59</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>522</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[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 roads,” they might finally find a home.<br/><br/>From the kitchen of an old pastry shop on Main Mall, the sisters set about creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuous wafts of cardamom, cinnamon, and saffron float through the streets–an exotic aroma that announces the opening of the Babylon Café, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage and Guinness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of Ballinacroagh’s uncrowned king, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old pastry shop for years and failing, Thomas is enraged to find it occupied–and by foreigners, no less. <br/><br/>But the mysterious, spicy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk, and soon, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil soup, abgusht stew, and rosewater baklava–and with the transformation in her sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems to be less nervous. <br/><br/>And in the stand-up-comedian-turned-priest Father Fergal Mahoney, the gentle, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, and the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey, the sisters find a merry band of supporters against the close-minded opposition of less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more, and the lives they left behind in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present.  <br/><br/>Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumph,s of two distinct cultures, <strong>Pomegranate Soup</strong> is an infectious novel of magical realism. This richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes, is a delectable journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Mar 19 14:51:09 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Mar 19 14:51:17 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[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 Ballina...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/49802436">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/49802436]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/49802436]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>46123199</id>
    <user>
    <id>1962503</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Blodeuedd]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Vaasa, 15, Finland]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1962503-blodeuedd-finland]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1251214765p3/1962503.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1251214765p2/1962503.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">513617</id>
  <isbn>0812972481</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780812972481</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">142</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Pomegranate Soup: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729m/513617.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729s/513617.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/513617.Pomegranate_Soup_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.59</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>522</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[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 roads,” they might finally find a home.<br/><br/>From the kitchen of an old pastry shop on Main Mall, the sisters set about creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuous wafts of cardamom, cinnamon, and saffron float through the streets–an exotic aroma that announces the opening of the Babylon Café, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage and Guinness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of Ballinacroagh’s uncrowned king, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old pastry shop for years and failing, Thomas is enraged to find it occupied–and by foreigners, no less. <br/><br/>But the mysterious, spicy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk, and soon, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil soup, abgusht stew, and rosewater baklava–and with the transformation in her sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems to be less nervous. <br/><br/>And in the stand-up-comedian-turned-priest Father Fergal Mahoney, the gentle, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, and the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey, the sisters find a merry band of supporters against the close-minded opposition of less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more, and the lives they left behind in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present.  <br/><br/>Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumph,s of two distinct cultures, <strong>Pomegranate Soup</strong> is an infectious novel of magical realism. This richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes, is a delectable journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Dec 31 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Feb 12 04:30:27 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Feb 12 04:30:49 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Pomegranate Soup: A novel by Mesha Mehran<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>Marjan Aminpour along side her younger sisters ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/46123199">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/46123199]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/46123199]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>77574334</id>
    <user>
    <id>145667</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Kathy M]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Lake Worth, FL]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/145667-kathy-m]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">513617</id>
  <isbn>0812972481</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780812972481</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">142</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Pomegranate Soup: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729m/513617.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729s/513617.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/513617.Pomegranate_Soup_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.59</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>522</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[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 roads,” they might finally find a home.<br/><br/>From the kitchen of an old pastry shop on Main Mall, the sisters set about creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuous wafts of cardamom, cinnamon, and saffron float through the streets–an exotic aroma that announces the opening of the Babylon Café, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage and Guinness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of Ballinacroagh’s uncrowned king, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old pastry shop for years and failing, Thomas is enraged to find it occupied–and by foreigners, no less. <br/><br/>But the mysterious, spicy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk, and soon, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil soup, abgusht stew, and rosewater baklava–and with the transformation in her sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems to be less nervous. <br/><br/>And in the stand-up-comedian-turned-priest Father Fergal Mahoney, the gentle, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, and the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey, the sisters find a merry band of supporters against the close-minded opposition of less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more, and the lives they left behind in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present.  <br/><br/>Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumph,s of two distinct cultures, <strong>Pomegranate Soup</strong> is an infectious novel of magical realism. This richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes, is a delectable journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Nov 12 13:27:49 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Nov 12 13:27:49 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[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 demeanin...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77574334">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77574334]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77574334]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>61943030</id>
    <user>
    <id>905125</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Tiffany]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Rego Park, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/905125-tiffany]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">513617</id>
  <isbn>0812972481</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780812972481</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">142</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Pomegranate Soup: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729m/513617.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729s/513617.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/513617.Pomegranate_Soup_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.59</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>522</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[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 roads,” they might finally find a home.<br/><br/>From the kitchen of an old pastry shop on Main Mall, the sisters set about creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuous wafts of cardamom, cinnamon, and saffron float through the streets–an exotic aroma that announces the opening of the Babylon Café, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage and Guinness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of Ballinacroagh’s uncrowned king, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old pastry shop for years and failing, Thomas is enraged to find it occupied–and by foreigners, no less. <br/><br/>But the mysterious, spicy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk, and soon, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil soup, abgusht stew, and rosewater baklava–and with the transformation in her sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems to be less nervous. <br/><br/>And in the stand-up-comedian-turned-priest Father Fergal Mahoney, the gentle, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, and the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey, the sisters find a merry band of supporters against the close-minded opposition of less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more, and the lives they left behind in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present.  <br/><br/>Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumph,s of two distinct cultures, <strong>Pomegranate Soup</strong> is an infectious novel of magical realism. This richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes, is a delectable journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Jul 02 15:53:37 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Jul 02 15:58:57 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[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 recipe...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/61943030">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/61943030]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/61943030]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>49937050</id>
    <user>
    <id>2108081</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Imogen]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Sydney, 02, Australia]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2108081-imogen-moore]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1236586739p3/2108081.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1236586739p2/2108081.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">513617</id>
  <isbn>0812972481</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780812972481</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">142</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Pomegranate Soup: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729m/513617.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729s/513617.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/513617.Pomegranate_Soup_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.59</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>522</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[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 roads,” they might finally find a home.<br/><br/>From the kitchen of an old pastry shop on Main Mall, the sisters set about creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuous wafts of cardamom, cinnamon, and saffron float through the streets–an exotic aroma that announces the opening of the Babylon Café, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage and Guinness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of Ballinacroagh’s uncrowned king, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old pastry shop for years and failing, Thomas is enraged to find it occupied–and by foreigners, no less. <br/><br/>But the mysterious, spicy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk, and soon, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil soup, abgusht stew, and rosewater baklava–and with the transformation in her sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems to be less nervous. <br/><br/>And in the stand-up-comedian-turned-priest Father Fergal Mahoney, the gentle, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, and the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey, the sisters find a merry band of supporters against the close-minded opposition of less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more, and the lives they left behind in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present.  <br/><br/>Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumph,s of two distinct cultures, <strong>Pomegranate Soup</strong> is an infectious novel of magical realism. This richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes, is a delectable journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Mar 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Mar 21 01:13:43 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Mar 28 00:29:09 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[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 fal...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/49937050">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/49937050]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/49937050]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>70227930</id>
    <user>
    <id>1324025</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Katri]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Finland]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1324025-katri]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1222966545p3/1324025.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1222966545p2/1324025.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">513617</id>
  <isbn>0812972481</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780812972481</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">142</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Pomegranate Soup: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729m/513617.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175431729s/513617.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/513617.Pomegranate_Soup_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.59</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>522</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[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 roads,” they might finally find a home.<br/><br/>From the kitchen of an old pastry shop on Main Mall, the sisters set about creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuous wafts of cardamom, cinnamon, and saffron float through the streets–an exotic aroma that announces the opening of the Babylon Café, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage and Guinness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of Ballinacroagh’s uncrowned king, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old pastry shop for years and failing, Thomas is enraged to find it occupied–and by foreigners, no less. <br/><br/>But the mysterious, spicy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk, and soon, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil soup, abgusht stew, and rosewater baklava–and with the transformation in her sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems to be less nervous. <br/><br/>And in the stand-up-comedian-turned-priest Father Fergal Mahoney, the gentle, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, and the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey, the sisters find a merry band of supporters against the close-minded opposition of less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more, and the lives they left behind in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present.  <br/><br/>Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumph,s of two distinct cultures, <strong>Pomegranate Soup</strong> is an infectious novel of magical realism. This richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes, is a delectable journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2005</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Sep 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Sep 06 01:29:42 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Sep 13 00:47:58 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[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 fo...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/70227930">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/70227930]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/70227930]]></link>
</review>
    </reviews>
  <popular_shelves>
          <shelf name="to-read" />
          <shelf name="fiction" />
          <shelf name="currently-reading" />
          <shelf name="food" />
          <shelf name="iran" />
          <shelf name="middle-east" />
          <shelf name="ireland" />
          <shelf name="moje" />
          <shelf name="my-library" />
      </popular_shelves>
  <book_links>
    <book_link>
  <id>8</id>
  <name><![CDATA[WorldCat]]></name>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=513617</link>
</book_link>
  </book_links>
</book>
</GoodreadsResponse>