"Crowther's debut novel paints a vivid double portrait of a spirited mother-daughter pair, first- and second-generation immigrants to England from Iran whose relationship grows turbulent when shadows from the mother's past begin to overwhelm her. This beautifully produced reading starts with the bright voice of Ariana Fraval as Sara, the daughter, “….but it is soon overtaken by the darker, melodically accented tones of Mehr Mansuri as Maryam, Sara's mother….Mansuri's voice takes on myriad emotional shades, from wonder and delight to sharp regret and painful uncertainty…. allows listeners to be swept up by Crowther's lovely, haunting story even more easily than when
induces Sara to come too, Mansuri's voice takes on myriad emotional shades, from wonder and delight to sharp regret and painful uncertainty. Intervals of Persian-inflected music helps set an exotic yet contemplative mood. Fraval and Mansuri's authentic pronunciation of the occasional foreign words allows listeners to be swept up by Crowther's lovely, haunting story even more easily than when reading it for themselves. Simultaneous release with the Viking hardcover. (Reviews, Oct. 2). (Jan.)" Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
Treachery past and present REVIEWS BY SUKEY HOWARD The Saffron Kitchen by Yasmin Crowther In our problem-plagued world where people are so easily uprooted, the meaning of home, exile and identity often take center stage. Yasmin Crowther's debut novel, The Saffron Kitchen, weaves these issues into a haunting love story that begins in Iran as the Shah came to power, moves to England and then back to Iran 50 years later. Banished from her elegant Persian family by her autocratic father for a suspected infraction, Maryam made a life for herself in London, married a gentle Englishman, had a daughter, but never felt at ease or at home and never forgot her first love, Ali. When a tragic accident wrenches mother and daughter apart, Maryam returns to Iran and, perhaps, to Ali. Sara, her grown daughter, follows her, hoping to understand her mother's anger and anguish, her history and roots, and hoping their soured relationship can be made sweet again. Maryam and Sara speak in very different voices, wonderfully realized here by Mehr Mansuri and Ariana Fraval, letting you into their separate yet intertwined lives, into the cultural differences that mother and daughter can't overcome. Endings, happy or otherwise, are left for you to ponder. This passionate and timely debut is about mothers and daughters, roots and exile, from the remote mountains and riotous streets of Iran to the rain-soaked suburbs of London. Unabridged. 8 CDs.
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