Rated of 5
by Darlene C. (Simpsonville, SC) Children of the Jacaranda Tree by Sahar Delijani
I found this book difficult to read. I think it was because the characters (of which there were many) were not fully developed enough for me to create a memorable mental image of them. Therefore I found myself flipping back and forth to find out who was who and how they related to the others. I had a similar problem with the passage of time. The writing itself was well done but perhaps more focus on less characters would have made it more readable for me. I'm sorry, but for me this was an "I have to finish it because I have to review it book".
Rated of 5
by Meredith K. (HACKENSACK, NJ) What an interesting book
Children of The Jacarandra Tree was one of the best books I have ever read. We have heard over a long period of time how the long battles in Iran have taken a toll on the country but this book tells us about it's people.
The book describes dissidents who were picked up, blindfolded and led out of their homes as there families watched, It took us to the jails where squalor and torture were everyday events. Some of the lucky prisioners were released after long prison terms to families whose very own children didn't recognize them.
This book was very painful to read because of it's harsh subject matter but it was very well written and will stay with you for a long time.
Rated of 5
by Carolyn V. (Douglass, KS) Children of the Jacaranda Tree
You are immediately caught up with one of the main characters in Children of the Jacaranda Tree. The book covers the protests in Iran over the years from 1983 to 2011 –.28 years, enough time for babies to grow up and fight their own political battles. The story is told from more than one side and there are many characters to follow. The two prisons, Evin and Kahrizak in the novel are real. The three Americans who wandered into Iran while hiking and were accused of spying by Iran were held in Evin. The writing is very subtle concerning the torture in the prison. Only in the 2nd reading did I catch the significance of the timing of the sisters going to prison and the age of their babies now in the care of the grandparents and the last sister. Shahar Delijani's writing has phrasing that has kept me pondering; 'soon she realized memories were heavier than her will to move on'. The scenes and characters change abruptly. Once the scene changed without the character names being mentioned; that left me struggling to fit the scene into my frame of reference. After reading the few pages I thought that by not naming the characters the scene became more universal. Many of the characters had the experience described. Although in aforementioned example the abrupt scene change worked others did not. Early in the book a character that you came to care about very quickly is in a life threatening condition. The next paragraph it is a month later with no mention how that was resolved. The ending did contain a surprise about the twist and turns lives take. The book was a good 1st read and the re-reading it is even more compelling.
Rated of 5
by Jill S. (Eagle, ID) Children of the Jacaranda Tree
This is a great book, one that will a great suggestion for any book club. Set in the aftermath of the Shah of Iran, it deals with the life, and repercussions of the transition. This book opened my eyes to these events, and made me appreciate the struggles, horror, and resilience of the human spirit. Although the number of characters can be distracting, the events are very 'eye opening'.
Rated of 5
by Lola M. (BOISE, ID) Never Ending
Reading Children of the Jacaranda Tree was what it must feel like to endlessly drown - in sorrow, fear, helplessness, similes and the over careful parceling out of emotions. It was like being tumbled over and under a roaring river of barely suppressed screams in a hurt-your-eyes hard light land. An overwhelming onslaught of terror, bitterness, loss, and confusion. The words wouldn't let up, wouldn't stop coming … even when I was begging them to stop.
How does one comfort children without mothers, and fathers staring into the face of death, but still surprised when it cuts them? How does one help women who sacrifice who they are for what someone else believes? The reader cannot and suffers for it.
While what this book brings to the table is real, reading page after page of beautifully written hell is very difficult to stick with. There is such a fierce push of adjectives and metaphors with no room to breathe. In reading there is no hope - except for that which is stingily and often painfully measured out by a people so suffocated, so cowed by their circumstances that I want to end their misery for them.
The stories draw everything out of the reader even when hearts glow and the human spirit attempts to rise. There is never triumph, never the knowledge that there will be healing and time for new, more gorgeous memories to be birthed in the lifetimes of the characters - even those who escape for a time. Lives either imploded or just expired and I had to live every one of them.
I am blessed to have the choice to close this book and be grateful for my mundane, even slightly boring life where I have the freedom to live where I do.
If this is the type of book a reader is drawn to, they will be in heaven.
Rated of 5
by Judy Only 33 pages into it
It was difficult for me to take a deep breath through the first 52 pages of this novel. I was drawn into the intensity of place, emotions, and happenings that were carefully crafted. I wanted to keep reading to know that things would get better. They did but only in small doses but those were cherished. I found it difficult at times to keep characters straight....not being familiary with Iranian names. I also am not a fan of novels that skip back and forth between time frames. That said I found myself wanting more and more to learn the resolution within the families.
The ending was false for me. It seemed too easy yet honest. I had to turn back pages to remember who the two profiled in the end actually were. Children of children of children. Cousins and cousins and cousins. This was a novel that filled me with angst for the characters. I also learned some history lessons that were new to me. Good read overall.
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of 5
by Darlene C. (Simpsonville, SC) 
of 5
by Meredith K. (HACKENSACK, NJ) 
of 5
by Lola M. (BOISE, ID) 
