Pomegranate Soup: A Novel

This awesome story of the Iranian Aminpour sisters relocated to Ireland was deliciously delightful. The more I read, the more I wished that the Babylon Cafe was in my neighborhood so I could go in for a delicious, steamy cup of Bergamot tea or a tasty bowl of the exotic red and mysterious Pomegranate soup. Each chapter begins with a recipe that is carefully and mythically woven into the story. You will find yourself smelling cinnamon, cardamon and nutmeg and even going to your spice cabinet just to check if perhaps you have a little bottle of saffron to sniff! I know, I did! I fully intend to try all of the exotic recipes. A fabulous first book by a talented author. I plan to read every book she writes. Worth every star, for sure!

For many years, Papa's Pastries shop provided the citizens of Ballinacroagh, Ireland with the tantalizing scents of freshly baked breads and sweets. When Papa Delmonico passed away, his wife, Estelle, unable to manage the shop alone with her arthritis, closed its doors and retreated to her home at the edge of town. The shop remained empty for many years. The paint faded and chipped. The plastic cloths melted into the table tops. Dust gathered on the floor and the windows grew dim from disinterest. The Aminpour sisters were forced to leave their native Iran and need to make a new life for themselves. The oldest sister, Marjan, turns to what she knows best-cooking-and decides to open an Iranian Café. Fate and family connections bring them to Ballinacroaugh, a town that sits at the base of the mountain where St. Patrick prayed, fasted and blessed the people of Ireland. Traditions run strong and deep in Ballinacroagh. When this trio of mysterious dark skinned women drive into town in an old hippie bus and re-open the former Pastry shop as the Babylon Café, tongues start wagging. Marsha Mehran's debut novel is astonishing for a new writer. She delivers the thoughts, motives and emotions of her characters with the crisp pungency of a Middle Eastern bazaar. I can't remember when I last felt compelled to read a book in a single sitting, but I absolutely could not put it down. I vow that I will rush to get on the waiting list for the next book by this talented author.

"Pomegranate Soup" follows the lives of three sisters exiled from Iran: the eldest, Marjan, a talented chef, the middle sister Bahar, haunted by an abusive husband and fleeing from a violent past, and the youngest, fifteen-year-old Lalya, who turns heads with her Oriental beauty and mysterious cinnamon and rosewater scent. The three arrive in the sleepy, close-minded Irish village of Ballinacroagh determined to open an Iranian restaurant, which turns out to be exactly what the bland community needs. The restaurant, though slow to take off, is eventually a success, and the three sisters soon have a network of friends and staunch regulars to defend them from the vicious gossips and bullying Thomas McGuire, who wants to buy out the Babylon Café in order to turn it into a disco. Marjan blossoms, creating an herb and flower garden from nearly barren soil and using her talent in the kitchen to bring a touch of the magical to people's lives: the closet comedian Father Mahoney, who is transformed by Marjan's abgusht, the gentle, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, who takes the girls under her wing and is soothed by the exotic teas served from Marjan's samovar, Fiona Athey, unwilling hairdresser with a thespian past, and Malachy McGuire, Thomas's sensitive Iberian son (product of his wife's fling with a shipwrecked Spanish sailor) who falls in love with Layla. The novel is beautifully written, woven with flashbacks from Revolutionary Iran, wisps of Persian, and sprinkled with delicious-sounding Persian recipes for dolmeh (stuffed grape leaves), red lentil soup, baklava, dugh, abgusht, fritters, lavash bread, torshi, chelow, fesenjoon, a tribal herbal headache remedy (nutmeg, cardamom, cloves), and pomegranate soup, all of which are key players in the novel. A delightful, hunger inducing read in the spirit and tradition of Chocolat and Like Water for Chocolate, "Pomegranate Soup" is a magical journey of Irish lore, Persian spices, and the healing powers of love.

I read this book for a reading group. My usual reading consists of gory serial killers,blood and guts! I was so pleasantly surprised. This story grabs you from the first page and never lets you go. Three sisters from Iran move to a tiny town in Ireland and open a cafe. The local characters are quirky and fun. They come alive and pull you in. The stories of the sisters' lives in Iran were at times disturbing and sad. We have to read them, we can't turn a blind eye to things that happen in our world no matter how hard it is to read! They tried to leave that part behind, but it is a part of them that made them the strong women they became. I love that the author included recipes at the beginning of each chapter. The unfolding of the story revolved around these recipes. I found that fun and interesting. I felt like I was a visitor in the Babylon Cafe. Drinking my mint tea and watching the story unfold. Truly a wonderful, fun book. I am not a good reviewer and I can never do a book justice by trying to explain it so just pick it up, read it, you will not be disappointed. I look forward to more from Marsha Mehran!

This is a fruity and tasty book that shows a maturity in very young writer that I hope will continue for future books. Its full of flavor and taste and it makes you want to have more. This is a new author and she does a great job making this a delicious read.The recipes are wonderful and come from a culture I know little about. The Irish characters are great.This is a movie waiting to be made. Its a perfect read in my opinion and I hope there is more to come from this small town and its characters