The Girl from the Garden - Softcover

Foroutan, Parnaz

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062418017 ISBN 13: 9780062418012

Publisher: Harperluxe, 2015

Synopsis

An extraordinary new writer makes her literary debut with this suspenseful novel of desire, obsession, power and vulnerability, in which a crisis of inheritance leads to the downfall of a wealthy family of Persian Jews in early twentieth-century Iran.

For all his wealth and success, Asher Malacouti--the head of a prosperous Jewish family living in the Iranian town of Kermanshah--cannot have the one thing he desires above all: a male son. His young wife Rakhel, trapped in an oppressive marriage at a time when a woman's worth is measured by her fertility, is made desperate by her failure to conceive, and grows jealous and vindictive.

Her despair is compounded by her sister-in-law Khorsheed's pregnancy and her husband's growing desire for Kokab, his cousin's wife. Frustrated by his wife's inability to bear him an heir, Asher makes a fateful choice that will shatter the household and drive Rakhel to dark extremes to save herself and preserve her status within the family.

Witnessed through the memories of the family's only surviving daughter, Mahboubeh, now an elderly woman living in Los Angeles, The Girl from the Garden unfolds the complex, tragic history of her family in a long-lost Iran of generations past. Haunting, suspenseful and inspired by events in the author's own family, it is an evocative and poignant exploration of sacrifice, betrayal, and the indelible legacy of the families that forge us.

About this title

Review:

"A lush debut... Foroutan is a modern-day Scheherazade, weaving her tale through the entire 20th century, from an aging woman in her L.A. garden to the brothers whose determination to spawn heirs tortured the harem she was raised in."--Willamette Week

"A powerful and moving novel about the devastating choices women face when their worth is tied to their wombs but not themselves. Parnaz Foroutan takes the timeless themes of love, honor, sacrifice and betrayal and makes them new."--Gloria Steinem

"The Girl from the Garden is a spectacular novel-a riveting, finely wrought portrait of loss, longing, and passion in the intimate lives of an extended family in Iran. Foroutan is a writer of astounding talent, and her tale is moving and unforgettable."--Carolina De Robertis, author of The Invisible Mountain

Set against the tumultuous backdrop of early 20th century Iran, The Girl from the Garden is an evocative tale of loss, betrayal and family ties. Parnaz Foroutan is a stunning new literary talent, and her debut novel is a gift to readers everywhere.--Amy Greene, author of Bloodroot

In her debut novel, Parnaz Foroutan has written an incantatory tale of love, sacrifice and an unquenchable yearning for paradise. Foroutan unfurls a sensuous, poetic tapestry of gardens and seasons, of women enshrouded and silenced by culture, of men made intractable by honor, religious tradition and filial loyalty.--Melissa Pritchard, author of PalmerinoandA Solemn Pleasure

"Some novels open the door to historical worlds you've never seen before, worlds that contain unforgivable cruelty and spectacular grace. Parnaz Foroutan's The Girl from the Garden is just such a novel, a powerful story about the contorted lives of women in an ancient patriarchy, radiantly told."--Robert Eversz, author of Zero to the Bone

"Foroutan's characters grapple, often vainly, for control against larger forces--a God who doesn't answer prayers, a state that doesn't recognize their humanity, and people who cannot be made to bend to their needs, no matter how badly they love them."--St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Drawing on her own family history, in The Girl from the Garden debut novelist Parnaz Foroutan offers an evocative portrait of Iranian Jewish culture, and the experience of being a woman who felt that both her family, and her body--which dictated her worth--had betrayed her."--Bustle.com, 16 Of August 2015's Best Books You'll Love

"Parnaz Foroutan's scorching debut novel, The Girl From the Garden, takes us to Iran, where a couple's inability to conceive pits a young wife against her tyrannical husband, who will stop at nothing to secure an heir."--W Magazine (online), 3 Books to Add to Your Summer Reading List

"2015 is proving to be a year filled with awesome debut novels, and the buzz around this book leads me to believe it's one of them!"--BookRiot

From the Back Cover:

For all his wealth and success, Asher Malacouti--the head of a Jewish family in the Iranian town of Kermanshah--cannot have the one thing he desires above all: a son. His young wife, Rakhel, trapped in an oppressive marriage at a time when a woman's worth is measured by her fertility, is made desperate by her failure to conceive, and grows jealous and vindictive. Frustrated by his wife's inability to bear him an heir, Asher makes a fateful choice that will shatter the household.

Witnessed through the memories of the family's sole surviving daughter, now an elderly woman living in Los Angeles, The Girl from the Garden unfolds the complex, tragic history of a family in a long-lost Iran of generations past. Haunting, suspenseful, and inspired by events in the author's own family, it is an evocative and poignant exploration of sacrifice, betrayal, and the indelible legacy of the families that forge us.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harperluxe
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0062418017
• ISBN 13: 9780062418012
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304