Tuesday,
October 10 at 6:30 pm
Marsha
Mehran
Pomegranate Soup
Reading • Q&A • Signing
Marsha
Mehran's first novel is a heady mixture of textures and aromas
as two cultures meet and become intertwined.
The three Aminpour sisters have been searching for a place to call
home since they fled Iran at the height of the revolution. After
seven years in London they have set their hopes on a small village
in County Mayo, Ireland called Ballinacroagh, where they are determined
to create a Persian oasis by opening Babylon Café.
As Marjan and her sisters Bahar and Layla lovingly recreate the
recipes they remember from home, there are some in town who aren't
ready to accept something so exotic into this bucolic corner of
Ireland. The pub owner tries his best to convince the townspeople
to stick with Guinness and boiled cabbage, but the mélange
of spices wafting out of their kitchen has soon worked its way
into the hearts of community.
Marjan is pleased so many enjoy their cooking, Layla finds her
first love, but Bahar still has feelings of foreboding from their
past. She may not be wrong as the sisters once again must face
events from their past that have managed to invade their oasis
in Ireland.
As the sisters move through the trials and triumphs where two cultures
meet, their story takes us on a delectable journey through Persian
cooking and Irish country life. Rich in details and recipes this
novel is a spicy, but satisfying, meal.
"Vibrantly alive and populated with rich characters, this
is a delicious first novel flavored generously with Persian spices
and Irish temperaments.
Marsha Mehran writes with a deft hand and a sparkling imagination."
--Amulya Malladi, author of Serving Crazy with Curry
Born
in Tehran, Marsha Mehran escaped the upheaval
of the Iranian revolution with her family. She grew up in Argentina,
where her parents operated
a Middle Eastern café. She now lives in the west of Ireland with
her husband, who is often called upon to taste her experimental
cooking.
Visit www.marshamehran.com to find out more about Marsha Mehran and Pomegranate Soup.