Together Tea...Review

About the book:
In Together Tea, Marjan Kamali’s delightful and heartwarming debut novel, Darya has discovered the perfect gift for her daughter’s twenty-fifth birthday: an ideal husband. Mina, however, is fed up with her mother’s years of endless matchmaking and the spreadsheets grading available Iranian-American bachelors. Having spent her childhood in Tehran and the rest of her life in New York City, Mina has experienced cultural clashes firsthand, but she’s learning that the greatest clashes sometimes happen at home.

After a last ill-fated attempt at matchmaking, mother and daughter embark on a return journey to Iran. Immersed once again in Persian culture, the two women gradually begin to understand each other. But when Mina falls for a young man who never appeared on her mother’s matchmaking radar, will Mina and Darya’s new-found appreciation for each other survive?

Together Tea is a moving and joyous debut novel about family, love, and finding the place you truly belong.

Tired of her mother's matchmaking attempts and wanting to know who she is and where she came from, Mina returns to Iran after immigrating 15 years ago.

I found the historical aspect of this novel fascinating.  My knowledge of Iran-American relations is spotty and comes mostly from the media, which we all know isn't to be trusted completely.  I remember the hostage crisis in 1979-1981. Here, I loved the perspective of a young woman who grew up in Iran and immigrated to America in the early days of the Iran/Iraq war.  When she spoke about the hyphen between the words Iranian-American, her writing was beautifully lyrical.

The story jumps between past and present as Mina remembers the Iran she left and the America she lives in presently.  As she and her mother visit present-day Iran, 15 years after leaving, the contrast between the countries was riveting. The poignant relationship between mother and daughter is the heart of the story and as mother and daughter return to Iran, Mina discovers the woman her mother once was and Darya learns she needs to let her daughter make her own choices.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to review this book.  You can learn more about Marjan Kamali here.  You can purchase your own copy here. You can see other reviews and tour stops here.

Friday, June 21st: Kritters Ramblings
Tuesday, June 25th: Excellent Library
Wednesday, June 26th: No More Grumpy Bookseller
Thursday, June 27th: Book Club Classics!
Monday, July 1st: Lit and Life
Tuesday, July 2nd: BookNAround
Wednesday, July 3rd: A Patchwork of Books
Monday, July 8th: 5 Minutes For Books
Wednesday, July 10th: 2 Kids and Tired Book Reviews
Monday, July 15th: Books in the City
Wednesday, July 17th: From L.A. to LA
Friday, July 19th: Reads for Pleasure

Read 7/13

* * * *
4/5 Stars

Comments

  1. I love to read about other countries and cultures so this sounds terrific to me!

    I read your blog through Feedly - does that count as a subscriber?

    kathy(at)bermudaonion.net

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  2. I'm curious about the passages when she spoke about the hyphen between the words Iranian-American. I'd love to get a perspective on that.

    Thanks for being on the tour!

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  3. I'd love to read this one. When I was a kid, during the days of the Shah, I had a friend from Iran. I've always wondered what happened to her and her family.

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  4. This fascinating novel interests me greatly for the characters and the intriguing storyline. thanks. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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  5. thanks for featuring this story which I find captivating and very special. I read about this period which was scary and real for many people and they left with just their shirts on their backs, if they were lucky enough to escape. This book would be memorable. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  6. This book sounds very interesting to me. Thank you for the chance to win it. I am also a new follower.

    griperang at embarqmail dot com

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