What readers think of Children of the Jacaranda Tree, plus links to write your own review.

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!

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.

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.

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".

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.

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.

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'.

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.