In the Time of Our History
A Novel of Riveting and Evocative Fiction
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4.3 • 30 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
“Beautifully written. . . . I’m still thinking about the women who inhabited these pages, the choices they made, and the love between them.” –Lisa See, New York Times bestselling author of The Island of Sea Women
“I fell in love with this jewel of a novel from the first page.” –Amy Tan, New York Times bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club
Indie Next List Pick | Target Book Club Pick | Publisher’s Marketplace Buzz Books Selection | San Francisco Bay Time Top of Your Stack Selection | Booklist Queen Most Popular Book Releases | Bar/Heart Substack 18 New Books to Read | Literally by Scribd Best New Books and Audiobooks
Inspired by her own Iranian-American heritage, the acclaimed author weaves a beautifully crafted story of mothers and daughters, secrets and lies, and defying expectations—even when those choices come with an irrevocable cost.
Twelve months after her younger sister Anahita’s death, Mitra Jahani reluctantly returns to her parents’ home in suburban New Jersey to observe the Iranian custom of “The One Year.” Ana is always in Mitra’s heart, though they chose very different paths. While Ana, sweet and dutiful, bowed to their domineering father’s demands and married, Mitra rebelled, and was banished.
Caught in the middle is their mother, Shireen, torn between her fierce love for her surviving daughter and her loyalty to her husband. Yet his callousness even amid shattering loss has compelled her to rethink her own decades of submission. And when Mitra is suddenly forced to confront hard truths about her sister’s life, and the secrets each of them hid to protect others, mother and daughter reach a new understanding—and forge an unexpected path forward.
Alive with the tensions, sacrifices, and joys that thrum within the heart of every family, In the Time of Our History is also laced with the richness of ancient and modern Persian culture and politics, in a tale that is both timeless and profoundly relevant.
“Luminous.” – Publishers Weekly
“A sprawling story of loss and healing in the immigrant experiences of an Iranian American family… This vibrant story is told in intricate, heartfelt detail.” – Foreword Reviews
“[An] immersive tale of a first-generation immigrant determined to blaze her own path.” – Booklist
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this luminous multigenerational tale, Pari (The Fortune Catcher) examines the complicated ties among an Iranian American family. After Mitra Jahani's immigrant father refuses to let her younger sister Ana be the first one to get married, Mitra pretends to get engaged, then cancels at the last minute. She also has her tubes tied. As a result, her father disowns her and she moves from New Jersey to California, breaking their mother Shireen's heart. Years later, Ana and her young children are killed in a car accident, and family secrets tumble out one after another, including Ana's childhood molestation by an older cousin and Ana's extramarital affair with an artist. Shireen, caught in the middle between her husband and daughter, finally takes a stand against her husband's cruelty, perhaps changing her own destiny. Well-drawn supporting characters, including Sali, an Iraqi teenager who gets pregnant after being raped and is disowned by her mother; and Julian, Mitra's supportive physician boyfriend, add depth. This expertly paced story easily navigates the cultural differences between newer Americans and older immigrants and provides a frank look at fraught family dynamics. For fans of sweeping family sagas, this is like catnip.
Customer Reviews
4 stars
I am rounding up to 4 stars simply because I loved how I was able to picture the characters and the scenery because of how it was beautifully written.
I found a slight slump in reading that I was able to get through, but some of the plot lines weren’t expanded enough and other plot lines weren’t really settled. For that, it was bumped down one star. And then I bumped it another .25 stars because the tragedy within the family was a bit typical with the ending of the book just tied with a bow - but not very satisfying.
Regardless though, I did enjoy the book and I look forward to reading more by this author.