One autumn day in London, the dark and troubled past of Maryam Mazar surfaces violently - with tragic consequences for her pregnant daughter, Sara....
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Nov 16, 2007
Amber
rated it: 
I don't know why I keep trying to read books about Iran. They always leave me feeling frustrated and irritated. The last one I read, Reading Lolita in Tehran, did the same thing to me - although at least I felt like I was part of a graduate-level book club. It was smart, well-written and academic - even if it did leave me feeling emotionally empty and discouraged about the Middle East.
This book, The Saffron Kitchen was unconnected and abstruse - without meaning to be. The writing is More...
This book, The Saffron Kitchen was unconnected and abstruse - without meaning to be. The writing is More...
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Apr 30, 2008
Carla
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I'm loving this book. It's emotionally a bit intense. I keep wanting to switch the pov to the mother, right now it's first person from the daughter. Maybe I can just relate more to the mother and wish I could hear her thoughts. UPDATE: I finished the book, and really liked the story. It's a love story on so many levels, love of a man and woman, love of a mother and daughter, and the love a person has for a place and how that is tied up with the feelings for a person. I could relate to the mother
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Dec 28, 2008
Michelle
rated it: 
I liked the idea of the book more than I liked the book. But I'm still looking forward to discussing it at book club.
At times I was distracted by the differing points of view - Crowther switches from first person to third person and back again. There were some chapters where I wasn't sure who was talking - and even when I knew who was talking, it was unclear the timeframe. Was it present day or 40 yrs ago?
At the end, Maryam explains the big secret of her life and it ended up bein More...
At times I was distracted by the differing points of view - Crowther switches from first person to third person and back again. There were some chapters where I wasn't sure who was talking - and even when I knew who was talking, it was unclear the timeframe. Was it present day or 40 yrs ago?
At the end, Maryam explains the big secret of her life and it ended up bein More...
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Oct 26, 2010
Kelly
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Oct 05, 2009
V
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This book was interesting from the standpoint of exploring the life of an Iranian woman. With Iran being in the forefront of the news these days, it's good to go beyond politics and into stories of people, even though these are fictional people.
I found the story a little difficult to follow at the beginning since it switched back and forth between the viewpoint of the mother to the daughter, and also switched from current day to the past. The daughter in the story searches to find o More...
I found the story a little difficult to follow at the beginning since it switched back and forth between the viewpoint of the mother to the daughter, and also switched from current day to the past. The daughter in the story searches to find o More...
Oct 27, 2011
Shovelmonkey1
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This is a well written book which is easy to read and for that I've awarded it three stars as it helped some long commutes to sail by fairly effortlessly and let me tell you, when your commute happens to go through Wigan (land of wind-tunnel platforms and limited shelter), this is no mean feat.
I suspect that a lot of the description and some of the experiences in the book are somewhat autobiographical with Crowther drawing on her own background and experience of a one-step-removed I More...
I suspect that a lot of the description and some of the experiences in the book are somewhat autobiographical with Crowther drawing on her own background and experience of a one-step-removed I More...
Jan 30, 2010
Angie
rated it:
Where "The Joy Luck Club" succeeded I think "The Saffron Kitchen" floundered. The story is about a mother daughter relationship and explores the cultural differences that can occur in a single household when one parent is an immigrant.
Maryam is from Iran. She immigrated to England and married an Englishman, Edward, and they have one daughter named Sara.
Maryam's tale is poignant, but watered down in fragmented flash backs and a disjointed narrative. T More...
Maryam is from Iran. She immigrated to England and married an Englishman, Edward, and they have one daughter named Sara.
Maryam's tale is poignant, but watered down in fragmented flash backs and a disjointed narrative. T More...
Apr 21, 2011
Casey
rated it:
I just finished this for a book discussion group. Not knowing much ~ if anything ~ about Iran, I found those sections interesting. I was not drawn to any of the characters, so it was a very detached read for me. All the characters appear to be damaged to some degree. I understand that they each must 'fit' they're 'broken' parts even to the effect of further damanaging someone else in the process, and kowing that the only thing to can say to that is "I'm sorry". So, I kind of understood
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Apr 17, 2009
Layla
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This book is about an Iranian woman whose traumatic experiences during childhood completely alter the course of her life and ultimately affect the family she has built in a foreign land. Crowther really understands Iran and Iranians; she gets the details - the saffron, the gold bangles, the tea from samovars - and she gets the big issues - especially the family name. For a first novel, I'm impressed.
Aug 14, 2009
Veri
rated it:
This totally drew me in. The main characters are so easy to sympathise with, I wanted to see a solution that would make them all happy.
The story finds a family living in Britain, with family ties to Iran. The attempts of the mother to reconcile her two disparate lives, before & after leaving Iran is too difficult & so she lives in the present most of the time. But as she gets older her past keeps affecting her actions, until she is compelled to return to Iran.
I found the More...
The story finds a family living in Britain, with family ties to Iran. The attempts of the mother to reconcile her two disparate lives, before & after leaving Iran is too difficult & so she lives in the present most of the time. But as she gets older her past keeps affecting her actions, until she is compelled to return to Iran.
I found the More...
Feb 01, 2012
Shannon
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Beautiful book for a first novel. I believe the intent was for there to be two protagonists and two stories, as there are two narrators, Maryam and her grown daughter Sara. However, the novel is all Maryam's. She and her life from childhood in Iran through her later life in England are beautifully and convincingly depicted, while Sara is more of a device than a character in her own right. This doesn't take away from the power and draw of the novel. It's well-written, doesn't pull any punche
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Aug 27, 2009
Jennifer
rated it: 
I was very hesitant when I picked out this book, then completely fell in love with the author's ability to tell a story. Sometimes I have a hard time with novels that spend one chapter on one character and then the next chapter is on a different character. I get irritated because I end up liking one character's story better than the other. In this book, however, I found I enjoyed both characters and stories equally. Her transitions were beautiful and equally spaced and thoroughly enjoyable. I en
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Apr 29, 2009
Sherri
rated it:
This book focuses on a family with ties to England and Iran. There are essentially two stories being told, one of a mother's life in Iran and her daughter's life in England. I found the stories themselves intriguing and the description of Iran and its' customs fascinating. I believe all Americans should read about different cultures, especially those that are in the news at this time in history. There is so much we do not understand, and putting a face on the people we hear about is one step
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Aug 08, 2010
Bettie
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Jan 25, 2009
Ali
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I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Set in London and Iran, Marayam travels back to her village in Iran, in an effort to understand her past and find the man she left behind more than forty yewrs before. Her husband, Edward daughter Sara and nephew back in London are left to wonder about that life of which they know so little, and if she'll ever return.
I thought this was a lovely book, well written, poignant and quite a page turner. The descriptions of both England and Iran - written with suc More...
I thought this was a lovely book, well written, poignant and quite a page turner. The descriptions of both England and Iran - written with suc More...
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Jun 24, 2011
Julia
rated it:
The Saffron Kitchen is the story of Maryam, an Iranian woman married and living in England for many years, and her final trip home. It is also the story of Sara, her grown daughter, not English but certainly not Iranian, who longs to understand her mother's desire to leave England and return to a place where by her own admission she never liked or felt free.
The language in the novel is beautiful. The story thread is a bit difficult to follow as the perspective constantly shifts between More...
The language in the novel is beautiful. The story thread is a bit difficult to follow as the perspective constantly shifts between More...
Jun 19, 2010
Jaclyn
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This book takes place in Iran, a place I really don't know a lot about. And of course, from the news, a place I am not sure I care to visit. But as always, books like this show me that there is someone out there who does love it, finds beauty and good in it and calls it home. A good reminder that we live in a big, big world but are somehow all still connected. This is an interesting story about a mother and daughter's relationship and a mother's relationship with her home country and past.
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Mar 10, 2010
Jinny
rated it:
I'm a sucker for a sense of place, and I really liked being "in" Mazareh, Maryam's home village.
The ending was unexpected...I wasn't sure about what Maryam would decide, and how Edward and Sara would respond. The characterizations of Sara and the adult Ali could have been fuller. I found the book's imagery of wind/breath and stars/light lovely. Mostly, I liked learning a little about a different culture (though the role and treatment of women, to a Western mind, is dismayi More...
The ending was unexpected...I wasn't sure about what Maryam would decide, and how Edward and Sara would respond. The characterizations of Sara and the adult Ali could have been fuller. I found the book's imagery of wind/breath and stars/light lovely. Mostly, I liked learning a little about a different culture (though the role and treatment of women, to a Western mind, is dismayi More...
Jan 05, 2009
The Saffron Kitchen, by Yasmin Crowther, Narrated by Mehr Mansuri and Ariana Fraval, produced by Penguin Books, downloaded from audible.com.
Maryann Mazar is Iranian, but she was forced to leave Iran because her father, one of the top generals serving under the Shah, thought she had disgraced the family. She met a gentle mild-mannered man in England and they were married. But Maryann did not feel she ever fit in. She would become very depressed, sometimes with violent consequences More...
Maryann Mazar is Iranian, but she was forced to leave Iran because her father, one of the top generals serving under the Shah, thought she had disgraced the family. She met a gentle mild-mannered man in England and they were married. But Maryann did not feel she ever fit in. She would become very depressed, sometimes with violent consequences More...
Sep 06, 2008
Becky
rated it:
I listened to this story on CD so I could knit. All the ingredients of this book are right, but the amounts could have been a bit different. I wanted to know a lot more about Ali and Dr. Ahlavi, because these characters revealed themselves to be good, interesting, and a comfort amidst all the unhappy events of the other characters. The cruel father needed more character elucidation, also, perhaps as a contrast to Maryam, both before she has to leave her family and is merely a bit wild, and af
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Aug 30, 2008
Beverly
rated it:
This is Crowther's first novel. She is the daughter of an Iranian mother and British father, just as her main character is, and she brings a lot of authenticity to the page in terms of being of two different worlds. I was especially interested to see how Crowther handled point of view in her novel. Her choices, unfortunately, don't always work. In an interview, Crowther explains her moves from first to third person as she moves among Sara (the daughter) and Maryam (the mother), but until I r
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Jan 27, 2008
Tory
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I have been fascinated with all things Persian as of late. I like the idea of getting a glimpse, even if fictional, into a place that has only connotation of oppression and terrorism from the media. I liked the aspect of this book showing the Iranian people as beautiful and complicated, just as people are all over the world.
It’s the story of a woman, who after living a life filled with secrets and a loss of self, looks for the freedom she once so desperately sought. Rage, induced by More...
It’s the story of a woman, who after living a life filled with secrets and a loss of self, looks for the freedom she once so desperately sought. Rage, induced by More...
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Oct 14, 2007
Miss_otis
rated it:
This one explores – sort of – the relationship between an Iranian mother and a Iranian-English (is that a proper descriptor?) daughter, and honestly, I normally steer clear of “mother-daughter” books/movies, because they too often come across as false, wholly manufactured, and sickeningly sweet to me. This was none of those things.
Crowther’s writing style is lovely, fluid, and quietly evocative; it is not, however, a cheerful read, although I found it more achingly melancholy/wistful More...
Crowther’s writing style is lovely, fluid, and quietly evocative; it is not, however, a cheerful read, although I found it more achingly melancholy/wistful More...
Sep 09, 2010
Holly
rated it:
This is a delightful beginning novel about a mixed race family (Iranian and English) written by a woman with the same background. The descriptions of Iran were vivid and mind expanding and the relationship tangle between mother and daughter seemed real. I did not approve or understand all the choices the characters made in the end, but I guess that was the point, there are some things about our loved ones we will never understand... because we haven't been in their shoes.
May 09, 2008
Lisle
rated it:
This was the paperback (sorry the record doesn't match--couldn't find it) I carried to doctor appointments for the last month or so. I have that system where the heavyweight hardcovers are on the bedside table, the romances I don't wish to be seen with by the exercycle, and higher-brow paperbacks in the battered tote with the essentials for waiting and waiting and waiting...I digress. Saffron Kitchen held my attention though all the interruptions. (Why is it patients can wait an hour, but then m
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Sep 17, 2010
Susan
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An interesting idea: Maryam, an Iranian woman, is married to an Englishman and has a grown daughter, Sara. A tragic incident sends Maryam back to the small village of her childhood and her first love, Ali. The writing just wasn't very good, and I just kept hoping for it to come to an end. The point of view kept changing, from first person to third person, and the first person could be either Maryam or Sara. I didn't find it terribly confusing, but it made for a disjointed feel.
May 21, 2010
Rach
rated it:
It didn't grab me at first, but it grew on me. I even shed a few tears at one point. Good story about a mother and daughter, a woman wounded by her past, a woman who, in her way, loves two men and is looking for home. The big revelation was a little anti-climactic and I think the author could have handled it better to make it more powerful. The most poignant part of the book was Maryam's soliloquy on what it will cost her to choose - one home over another.
Mar 03, 2011
Allison
rated it:
Interesting to gain the perspective of another culture and how someone tries to assimilate into other cultures. Sometimes it must feel suffocating to them. This book was a bit depressing. It had some interesting aspects about Iran, the people, and imagery. I am still a sucker for happy endings and when that doesn't happen I am left feeling a little flat even through I know that is not how life really is.
Oct 01, 2010
Rachel
rated it:
Not at all what I expected! What an amazing story. It started off slowly - almost too slow - which is why I didn't give it five stars. But, the story was so beautiful - a raw look at how traditions can really scar people and how when we try to hide what we really feel, we end up living a total lie and a miserable existence. This was about being true to oneself, even when it means going against what other people need/want.
Apr 30, 2010
Diane
rated it:
An interesting take on mother/daughter relationships played out in a culture clash - this time between the London and Afghanistan. Not as thoroughly developed as those cross cultural relationships in The Joy Luck Club, this is none-the-less and inside look into the forces that shape females from the Afghani culture and their relationships. This was a very effective audio presentation and the story highly engaging.
