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Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Aug 2005, 240 pages
Paperback:
Sep 2006, 256 pages
Book Reviewed by:
BookBrowse Review Team
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Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumphs of two distinct cultures this is an infectious, richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes - a delectable journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.
Beneath the holy
mountain Croagh Patrick, in damp and lovely County Mayo, sits the small,
sheltered village of Ballinacroagh. To the exotic Aminpour sisters, Ireland
looks like a much-needed safe haven. It has been seven years since Marjan
Aminpour fled Iran with her younger sisters, Bahar and Layla, and she hopes that
in Ballinacroagh, a land of "crazed sheep and dizzying roads," they might
finally find a home.
From the kitchen of an old pastry shop on Main Mall, the sisters set about
creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuous wafts of cardamom, cinnamon, and saffron
float through the streets–an exotic aroma that announces the opening of the
Babylon Café, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage
and Guinness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of
Ballinacroagh's uncrowned king, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old
pastry shop for years and failing, Thomas is enraged to find it occupied--and by
foreigners, no less.
But the mysterious, spicy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk, and
soon, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil
soup, abgusht stew, and rosewater baklava--and with the transformation in her
sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems to be
less nervous.
And in the stand-up-comedian-turned-priest Father Fergal Mahoney, the gentle,
lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, and the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey, the
sisters find a merry band of supporters against the close-minded opposition of
less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when
the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more, and the lives they
left behind in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present.
Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumphs of two distinct
cultures, Pomegranate Soup is an infectious novel of magical realism.
This richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes, is a delectable
journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.
Chapter Two
Red Lentil Soup
Ingredients:
2 cups dry red lentils
7 large onions, chopped
7 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
4 teaspoons ground cumin
Olive oil
5 cups chicken broth
5 cups water
Salt
2 teaspoons nigella seeds*
* Ground black pepper may be substituted
Place lentils in a saucepan, cover with water, and bring
to a boil. Cook, uncovered, for 9 minutes. Drain and place aside. In a
large stockpot, fry 6 of the chopped onions, garlic, turmeric, and cumin
in olive oil until golden. Transfer lentils, broth, and water to the
pot. Add salt, nigella seed or pepper to taste. Bring soup to a boil.
Lower heat, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes. Fry the remaining onion in
olive oil until crisp but not blackened. Add as a garnish over
individual bowls of soup.
From her bedroom window, in a flat above the Reek Relics shop, Dervla Quigley could see the universe. ...
If you liked Joanne Harris's Chocolat, you're going to love Pomegranate Soup - a tale as warm and vibrant as the bubbling samovar around which the cafe hums; but don't be mistaken into thinking that just because this first novel is as comforting as a good cup of tea that it is not without substance...continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
Frank Delaney, author of Ireland
Few novels have such charm, such fusion. Marsha Mehran takes one of the great staples of literature, food and its creation, and makes it the vehicle of a delightful, subtle fairytale. With a deep understanding of opposites such as whimsy and poignancy, she delivers a moving and very amusing enquiry into whether differences between peoples exist at all.Marsha Mehran was born in Iran, on the eve of the Islamic Revolution. Amidst the increasing chaos her parents decided to emigrate to America - they were luckier than most as they had a modest nest egg and letters of acceptance from the University of Arizona, but they needed visas. On November 4, 1979, her father planned to file their visa applications with the American Embassy, but a band of revolutionary students bombarded the consulate and took the employees hostage. This momentous turn of events, known ...
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