I really enjoyed this book. I can't remember how I stumbled upon it, but once reading the summary, I was hooked. The book focuses on the life of the author's mother and grandmother. It is as much about life in Iran as it is about a woman's role in society, culture, food and mother and father-daughter relationships. In some ways it was a mystery as I turned the page wondering if the author would venture back to Iran and meet Sara. It was very well written and felt much more like fiction than non-fiction. The detail of life in Iran was well articulated but not tedious. I felt there were some gaps in the last quarter of the book and I'm inclined to believe that this was editing. Although the book's main point was to detail life in Iran, I was equally interested in the family's life in the US. I felt like some of the detail in the first half of the book wasn't applied to the second half of the book. But the book was a fascinating glimpse into life in Iran in the mid 20th century and an interesting look at familial relationships and culture. It was very well written and would make a good reading group book as well.