Pomegranate Soup (Babylon Café #1)
Marsha Mehran
Rated: 3.58 of 5 stars
3.58
· 30 ratings · 240 pages · Published: 01 Jan 2005
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 triumph,s 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.
Tagged as:
- magical realism 3
- culinary 3
- contemporary 3
- family 3
- historical fiction 3
- drama 2
- literary fiction 2
- realistic 2
- protagonists of colour 2
- coming of age 2
- friendship 2
- islam 1
- magic 1
- 20th century 1
- spirituality 1
- paranormal 1
- Add topics
- format - reader age
- anthology 1
- adult fiction 1
romance tags
crime tags
literary-fiction tags
historical-fiction tags
fantasy tags
sci-fi tags
action-adventure tags
thriller tags
horror tags
Collections/Custom tags
The 'Babylon Café' series
3.53 · 44 ratings
culinary · fiction · literary-fiction · family · drama · womens-fiction · adult · contemporary · female-author · magical-realism · paranormal · poc-mc · spirituality · friendship · book · anthologies · siblings · romance · magic · islam
Babylon Café reading order and complete book list ❯