{"product_id":"the-girl-from-the-garden-a-novel-isbn-9780062388391","title":"The Girl from the Garden: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn extraordinary new writer makes her literary debut with this suspenseful novel of desire, obsession, power and vulnerability, in which a crisis of inheritance leads to the downfall of a wealthy family of Persian Jews in early twentieth-century Iran.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor all his wealth and success, Asher Malacouti—the head of a prosperous Jewish family living in the Iranian town of Kermanshah—cannot have the one thing he desires above all: a male son. His young wife Rakhel, trapped in an oppressive marriage at a time when a woman’s worth is measured by her fertility, is made desperate by her failure to conceive, and grows jealous and vindictive.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHer despair is compounded by her sister-in-law Khorsheed’s pregnancy and her husband’s growing desire for Kokab, his cousin’s wife. Frustrated by his wife’s inability to bear him an heir, Asher makes a fateful choice that will shatter the household and drive Rakhel to dark extremes to save herself and preserve her status within the family.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWitnessed through the memories of the family’s only surviving daughter, Mahboubeh, now an elderly woman living in Los Angeles, \u003cem\u003eThe Girl from the Garden\u003c\/em\u003e unfolds the complex, tragic history of her family in a long-lost Iran of generations past. Haunting, suspenseful and inspired by events in the author’s own family, it is an evocative and poignant exploration of sacrifice, betrayal, and the indelible legacy of the families that forge us.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“A powerful and moving novel about the devastating choices women face when their worth is\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003etied to their wombs but not themselves. Parnaz Foroutan takes the timeless themes of love, honor, sacrifice, and betrayal and makes them new.”—Gloria Steinem\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor all his wealth and success, Asher Malacouti—the head of a prosperous Jewish family living in the Iranian town of Kermanshah—cannot have the one thing he desires above all: a son. His young wife, Rakhel, trapped in an oppressive marriage at a time when a woman’s worth is measured by her fertility, is made desperate by her failure to conceive, and grows jealous and vindictive. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHer despair is compounded by the pregnancy of her sister-in-law, Khorsheed, and by her husband’s growing desire for Kokab, his cousin’s wife. Frustrated by his wife’s inability to bear him an heir, Asher makes a fateful choice that will shatter the household and drive Rakhel to dark extremes to save herself and preserve her status within the family. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWitnessed through the memories of the family’s only surviving daughter, Mahboubeh, now an elderly woman living in Los Angeles, \u003cem\u003eThe Girl from the Garden\u003c\/em\u003e unfolds the complex, tragic history of her family in a long-lost Iran of generations past. Haunting, suspenseful, and inspired by events in the author’s own family, it is an evocative and poignant exploration of sacrifice, betrayal, and the indelible legacy of the families that forge us.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne of Booklist’s Top 10 First Novels of 2015\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“\u003ci\u003eThe Girl from the Garden\u003c\/i\u003e is a spectacular novel-a riveting, finely wrought portrait of loss, longing, and passion in the intimate lives of an extended family in Iran. Foroutan is a writer of astounding talent, and her tale is moving and unforgettable.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCarolina De Robertis, author of The Invisible Mountain\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSet against the tumultuous backdrop of early 20th century Iran, \u003cem\u003eThe Girl from the Garden\u003c\/em\u003e is an evocative tale of loss, betrayal and family ties. Parnaz Foroutan is a stunning new literary talent, and her debut novel is a gift to readers everywhere. - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAmy Greene, author of Bloodroot\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A powerful and moving novel about the devastating choices women face when their worth is tied to their wombs but not themselves. Parnaz Foroutan takes the timeless themes of love, honor, sacrifice and betrayal and makes them new.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGloria Steinem\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn her debut novel, Parnaz Foroutan has written an incantatory tale of love, sacrifice and an unquenchable yearning for paradise. By threading together the silvered remembrances of an elderly woman among stories of a family, generations past, in the Iranian town of Kermanshah,  Foroutan unfurls a sensuous, poetic tapestry of gardens and seasons, of women enshrouded and silenced by culture, of men made intractable by honor, religious tradition and filial loyalty. - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMelissa Pritchard, author of Palmerino and A Solemn Pleasure\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn her debut novel, Parnaz Foroutan has written an incantatory tale of love, sacrifice and an unquenchable yearning for paradise. Foroutan unfurls a sensuous, poetic tapestry of gardens and seasons, of women enshrouded and silenced by culture, of men made intractable by honor, religious tradition and filial loyalty. - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMelissa Pritchard, author of PalmerinoandA Solemn Pleasure\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Some novels open the door to historical worlds you’ve never seen before, worlds that contain unforgivable cruelty and spectacular grace. Parnaz Foroutan’s \u003cem\u003eThe Girl from the Garden\u003c\/em\u003e is just such a novel, a powerful story about the contorted lives of women in an ancient patriarchy, radiantly told.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRobert Eversz, author of Zero to the Bone\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[U]ltimately, \u003cem\u003eThe Girl from the Garden\u003c\/em\u003e is about how telling stories helps us to hold our past in our hands-and about how a flowering yard ‘teeming with life’ in far-off Los Angeles can movingly become, for one wandering storyteller, a home.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSeattle Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“We never learn Mahboubeh’s own story, but the sense of a personality forged by the sacrifice, betrayal and restrictions of the women who came before her will remain with the reader long after the book is over.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBookPage\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[R]emarkable not only for its rare, intimate glimpse of an Iranian Jewish family in the early 20th century, nor for its gorgeous sentences or profound treatment of longing, loss and memory, but for how it seduces and enthralls the reader.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle, Carolina de Robertis\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Filled with lingering sorrow, broken hearts and cold revenge, this walk down a sometimes-darkened memory lane is not for those seeking a light-hearted read, but fans of well-paced dramas will find much to adore.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A riveting portrait of family strife in a troubled land--and the fallout when a woman’s fertility determines her worth.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This elegant debut focuses on a family of wealthy Iranian Jews and the inheritance crisis that nearly tears them apart. Told from the viewpoint of the daughter, who’s left her homeland to live in Los Angeles, it’s a riveting portrait of family strife in a troubled land-and the fallout when a woman’s fertility determines her worth.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A lush debut... Foroutan is a modern-day Scheherazade, weaving her tale through the entire 20th century, from an aging woman in her L.A. garden to the brothers whose determination to spawn heirs tortured the harem she was raised in.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWillamette Week\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Drawing on her own family history, in \u003cem\u003eThe Girl from the Garden\u003c\/em\u003e debut novelist Parnaz Foroutan offers an evocative portrait of Iranian Jewish culture, and the experience of being a woman who felt that both her family, and her body--which dictated her worth--had betrayed her.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBustle.com, 16 Of August 2015's Best Books You'll Love\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Parnaz Foroutan’s scorching debut novel, \u003cem\u003eThe Girl From the Garden\u003c\/em\u003e, takes us to Iran, where a couple’s inability to conceive pits a young wife against her tyrannical husband, who will stop at nothing to secure an heir.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eW Magazine (online), 3 Books to Add to Your Summer Reading List\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“2015 is proving to be a year filled with awesome debut novels, and the buzz around this book leads me to believe it’s one of them!” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBookRiot\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Foroutan’s lyrical debut offers a mosaic of stories…Deftly structured, this novel traces those complications to their core, exposing the pain, oppressive forces, and difficult allegiances within and without the estate, while lending grace through the delicacy of its observation.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“In this stunning first novel, Foroutan draws on her own family history to integrate the lore and traditions of old Iran. Suspenseful and haunting, this riveting story of jealousy, sacrifice, and betrayal and the intimately drawn characters within will not be easily forgotten.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Foroutan’s characters grapple, often vainly, for control against larger forces--a God who doesn’t answer prayers, a state that doesn’t recognize their humanity, and people who cannot be made to bend to their needs, no matter how badly they love them.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSt. Louis Post-Dispatch\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ecco","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44888792924389,"sku":"NP9780062388391","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780062388391.jpg?v=1730229841","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-girl-from-the-garden-a-novel-isbn-9780062388391","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}