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There are currently 37 member reviews
for Children of the Jacaranda Tree
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Jonna V. (WESTMINSTER, CO)
Jacaranda Tree
Powerful and mesmerizing read, finished the book in 2 days. Sahard takes us into the lives/experiences of the women, men, husbands, wives and children of Iran. She makes the reader feel the pain, love, desperation and courage of the Iranian people.
Several friends from my book club saw me reading it and are excited to read it. Many fantastic discussion points.
I would say that I enjoyed reading "Jacaranda Tree" but that it is probably not the correct wording...I'll say that I am glad I read it.
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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.
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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!
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Patricia S. (New Canaan, CT)
Touches your soul
Many stories have been written of a political nature of life in Iraq under Saddam Hussein, but the author has captured, with great emotion, the generations of the families affected in the neighboring country of Iran, 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 Tehran.
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.
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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.
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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'.
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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.
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