The Girl from the Garden

Parnaz Foroutan's first novel peeks behind the closed doors of an Iranian Jewish family and at the hardships and sacrifices they face.

In early 20th-century Iran, teenaged bride Rakhel faces one of the most serious dilemmas that can befall a wife in a strict patriarchal society: she has not conceived a son. Her wealthy and respected husband, Asher Malacouti, wants nothing so much as a son to inherit his legacy, and the fact that his younger brother's wife, Khorsheed, has already borne one son creates more tension in the household and pressure on Rakhel. When Asher's cousin divorces his beautiful wife, Kokab, Asher sees a golden opportunity. If he marries Kokab, he does her the favor of saving her reputation, while she will provide him with sons. However, his motives are less practical and charitable than he pretends. In truth, Asher is hopelessly smitten with his cousin's wife and desperate to possess her. Despite her mother-in-law Zolekhah's counsel that Rakhel should do her duty as first wife by taking over household operations and welcoming Kokab, Rakhel feels nothing but heartache and jealousy toward the newcomer.

As the family stumbles fruitlessly toward disaster, Foroutan intersperses scenes of an elderly woman named Mahboubeh, the family's last living descendant, now tending her pomegranate trees in Los Angeles and thinking about her family's checkered past. Despite their suffering, Foroutan's characters experience moments of beauty, too. Filled with lingering sorrow, broken hearts and cold revenge, this walk down a sometimes-darkened memory lane is not for those seeking a light-hearted read, but fans of well-paced dramas will find much to adore. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads

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