BookBrowse Reviews In the Time of Our History by Susanne Pari

BookBrowse:

An intriguing, uniquely written tale of the bonds and tensions within an Iranian American family.

Susanne Pari's In the Time of Our History was highly praised by our First Impressions reviewers, who gave it an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars.

What the book is about:

In the Time of Our History by Susanne Pari is the story of the Jahani family adapting to life in the United States after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Shireen is the dutiful, obedient wife dominated by her overbearing husband. Mitra is a rebellious first-generation American daughter fleeing the expectations of her father and is struggling to find her identity after her sister's tragic death. The book explores generational and cultural differences in immigrant communities. The characters are flawed and well-developed. The story is raw and hopeful, and the characters feel authentic as they experience challenging circumstances. They deal with grief, infidelity, trauma and sponsorship. They also struggle with class, political and cultural barriers (Mitzi K).

Readers were taken in by the novel's captivating drama…

This book was a page-turner for me. As new information and characters are revealed, the reader is drawn into the lives and drama of a group of immigrants from Iran and their families (Stephanie K). The many plot twists work well and kept me wholeheartedly engaged (Rebecca G). I read the last third of the book in one sitting; I could not put it down (Janet H).

...and praised the realistic, well-drawn characters.

I felt I was witnessing an unraveling of an artful web of multiple viewpoints and history. The story effortlessly describes each character's contribution or thread in that web. I felt emotionally invested in each angle of the various dynamics and family relationships, such as the push and pull of the bond between sisters, the strong love between mother and daughter, and the love-hate struggle of a patriarchal father-daughter duo (Diane J). The depth of the characters made me want them to walk off the page so we could sit down, share tea and have deep conversations (Mary L). This is one of those stories that makes you sad when you reach the last page because you just aren't ready to let the characters go yet (Rebecca H).

Some felt the book was a little slow to start and a bit overloaded with description…

Pari's novel has a slow start and is a little difficult to become invested in. The early portion of the novel has a lot of descriptive passages that don't particularly add anything to the plot or characters (Kathy). My only criticism of Susanne Pari's book is that sometimes the writing imposes itself on the reading. Similes, while descriptive, sometimes do not fit the context (Connie K).

…but others particularly enjoyed Pari's unique writing and stylistic choices.

I like the writing style of this author: oftentimes the characters are recounting past events in the present, which adds a flavorful layer to the story (Sonia F). The author gives us a one-to-two-page "introduction" to each chapter by telling a brief story that does not name names, then proceeds into the heart of the story. I liked that new-to-me style (Janet H). A novel may just tell an interesting story or it may also have beautiful literary value. In the Time of Our History, a fascinating tale, is told in elegant language, satisfying the reader who appreciates an excellent story and beautiful writing (Jean B).

Reviewers noted that the novel includes great fodder for reflections and discussions on family dynamics…

This would be an excellent novel for book clubs to discuss, and simply for individual readers to ponder, how we stay in or leave the families we originate in (Stephanie K). Susanne Pari covers topics that are familiar to many families: children rebelling against parental expectations, "good" girls or boys who morph into different personas to keep the peace and please their families while still being true to who they are and what they want, and people whose perceptions of themselves are incredibly flawed (Sally H). This book will be hard to put down and will draw you into a more reflective consideration of cultural differences and family dynamics no matter your origins (Mary G).

...and felt grateful for having had the opportunity to read it.

In a very few words: I loved this book. I couldn't put it down and was sorry it ended. I wanted to spend more time with the Iranian American Jahani family (Judith C). I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to read this lovely book…I look forward to spreading the word about this novel with my friends who share my love of beautifully written contemporary fiction (Cynthia V).

This review was originally published in The BookBrowse Review in January 2023, and has been updated for the December 2023 edition. Click here to go to this issue.