In the Time of Our History, Susanne Pari
In the Time of Our History, Susanne Pari
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In the Time of Our History

Author: Susanne Pari

Narrator: Mozhan Marnò

Unabridged: 11 hr 52 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/03/2023


Synopsis

Inspired by her own family's experiences following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Susanne Pari explores the entangled lives within an Iranian American family grappling with generational culture clashes, the roles imposed on women, and a tragic accident that forces them to reconcile their guilt or forfeit their already tenuous bonds. Set between San Francisco and New Jersey in the late-1990s, In the Time of Our History is a story about the universal longing to create a home in this world—and what happens when we let go of how we've always been told it should look.

Twelve months after her younger sister Anahita's death, Mitra Jahani reluctantly returns to her parents' home in suburban New Jersey to observe the Iranian custom of "The One Year." Ana is always in Mitra's heart, though they chose very different paths. While Ana, sweet and dutiful, bowed to their domineering father's demands and married, Mitra rebelled, and was banished.

Caught in the middle is their mother, Shireen, torn between her fierce love for her surviving daughter and her loyalty to her husband. Yet his callousness even amid shattering loss has compelled her to rethink her own decades of submission. And when Mitra is suddenly forced to confront hard truths about her sister's life, mother and daughter reach a new understanding—and forge an unexpected path forward.

About Susanne Pari

Susanne Pari is an Iranian-American novelist, journalist, essayist, and book reviewer. Born in New Jersey to an Iranian father and an American mother, she grew up both in the United States and Iran until the 1979 Islamic Revolution forced her family into permanent exile. Since then, her writing has focused on stories of displacement and belonging, of identity and assimilation, of trauma and resilience. Her first novel, The Fortune Catcher, has been translated into six languages, and her nonfiction writing has appeared in the New York Times Sunday Magazine, the Christian Science Monitor, the Boston Globe, the San Francisco Chronicle, National Public Radio, and Medium. A former program director for Book Expo, she is a member of the National Book Critics Circle, the Author's Guild, the San Francisco Writers' Grotto, and the Castro Writers' Cooperative, she serves on the board of the Lakota Children's Enrichment Writing Project and is an alumna of the Hedgebrook Writing Residency. She blogs occasionally for the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies and divides her time between Northern California and New York.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Rosh on February 07, 2023

In a Nutshell:An interesting look at the conflicting identities of first and second-generation Irani-Americans. Somewhat predictable, especially for those who have read this genre and are exposed to similar cultures as Yours Truly is. Good for readers who like dysfunctional family dramas. Story Syn......more

Goodreads review by Terrie on January 27, 2023

In the Time of Our History by Susanne Pari is an Iranian-American Family Fiction Story! Mitra Jahani travels from her home in San Francisco to her parents' home in New Jersey to observe the Iranian custom "The One Year" of her sister Anahita's death. These two sisters were miles apart in their desire......more

Goodreads review by Sharon on April 21, 2022

A good read, very thought provoking with wonderful reader's guide questions to ponder at the end. This would be a rich choice for a book club especially in a group wishing to read more diverse material. It was great to read such quality literature from another culture that is so different in many as......more

Goodreads review by Mainlinebooker on October 12, 2022

What an appropriately timed novel which the author could not have surmised when she began this book. The Iranian American author, daughter to an Iranian father and American mother, must know intimately of what she writes. She was born in NJ and lived in the US and Iran after fleeing the latter count......more

Goodreads review by Laura on June 15, 2022

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on January 3rd, 2023. Writing: 5/5 Characters: 5/5 Plot: 5/5 I loved this character and culture driven drama about an extended Iranian American family pos......more