Rated of 5
by Tracey S. disappointed
I was disappointed in the book and I wanted it to be better than it was. The first part drew me in and I wanted to find out what happened to Neda, but as I kept reading I got confused on who was who and had to keep going back to see if I had read about a certain character before. I probably would have stopped reading the book about half way through if I had just been reading for pleasure and not because I needed to write a review. I'm sure there are other who loved the book, but I just thought it was okay.
Rated of 5
by Sherrie R. (Fort Worth, TX) Fascinating book, riveting reading
I was intrigued to read a story by an Iranian author whose family lived in Iran during the 1983 revolution. She tells a vivid and enduring story how it affected so many lives through the years.
From the harrowing beginning when Azar was being taken to the hospital to have her baby, I completely immersed myself in this book and all its characters. The writing was so descriptive that I felt like I was right there "in the moment." Each woman's story unfolded in time sequences from 1983, 1987- then 2009/2010.
There were so many places where she included phrases that to me perfectly captured the essence of what that character was thinking and feeling.
I LOVED IT!
Rated of 5
by Rita H. (Centennial, CO) Children of the Jacaranda Tree
What a fascinating book! I think that the most interesting thought that I received from this book is that although revolutionaries may be killed, the revolutionary spirit cannot be killed. Ms. Delijani makes this very clear as she weaves her story about everyday revolutionary participants, their fates and their next generations. Changing time periods and locations was easily followed as each chapter bore the time and place titles. I truly enjoyed the book and am looking forward to seeing Ms. Delijani in person on her author tour. However, I fear that I missed the full impact of the title.
Rated of 5
by Alyce T. (San Antonio, TX) Children Of the Jacaranda Tree
This book to me was a collection of loosely joined short stories. The characters did not come alive . I did not feel like I really got to know anyone. The other problem that I had reading it was what seemed to be awkward descriptions throughout the book. On the plus side, Delijani proytrayed the times well. It was very informative and the stories needed to be told. I do feel a lot of sympathy for her and her family and friends from whom these were drawn. It would cause a lot of discussions in book clubs. Yes, I would recommend it. I really liked the last chapter. That was when I started feeling involved.
Rated of 5
by Celia A. (Takoma Park, MD) Children of the Jacaranda Tree
This book follows two generations of Iranians--those who were young adults at the time of the revolution and their children. The book bounces around in time, and the best developed chapters are those set in the prisons during the parents' generation. While I was glad to get to read about a bit of modern history from an unfamiliar perspective, I found that there were just too many characters to keep straight. I wanted to construct a family tree so that I could keep straight which parents went with with children, but I'm not sure that would have helped. There seemed to be very little narrative arc carrying the book forward. Instead, the chapters seemed very disconnected. Most confusingly, the author kept introducing major characters right up to the end. I was disappointed in a book that I had great hopes for. I think I would have liked it more had it been written as a set of loosely connected short stories.
Rated of 5
by Patricia S. (New Canaan, CT) Touches your soul
Many stories have been written of a political nature of life under Saddam Hussein, but the author has captured, with great emotion, the generations of the families affected , whose lives were never the same. Painful lives, full of memories, lies, half truths and untold secrets as they fought for a better life, and then again as history repeated itself in Teheran. The author's prose is more like poetry, wonderfully descriptive, yet so heart breaking at times. From the sadistic Evin prison to the family courtyard where the jacaranda tree bloomed with its beautiful scent, from political activists throughout 3 generations to political refugees, Sahar Delijani has brought them alive through her poetic words more evocatively than any movie could. As Sahar wrote, "Poetry is poetry only when it reveals the depth of your soul" and as such, she's left her soul on every page. This story touched my soul.
A bold, mesmerizing novel about the woman known as "Typhoid Mary," the first known healthy carrier of typhoid fever in the burgeoning metropolis of early twentieth century New York.
Z, the novel about the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald is at points charming and; like another reviewer, I kept thinking of the movie, "Midnight...
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Although heavy on the scientific details, which slowed down the story for me (OK, I admit, I was one of those liberal arts majors who skipped out on...
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Loved this book. Magical, quirky, enchanting I could go on. All books do not have to be literary fiction, sometimes it is just so comforting to read...
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British Parliament asks Amazon to clarify why it pays $9 million in income tax on $23 billion of UK sales.(May 20 2013) Amazon will be called back to give further evidence to members of the British Parliament "to clarify how its activities in the U.K. justify its low corporate...
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of 5
by Tracey S. 
of 5
by Sherrie R. (Fort Worth, TX) 
