Reviews

The Girl from the Garden by Parnaz Foroutan

caseygrim's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Written in a way that makes you feel lost in the mind of an old woman who struggles to keep hold of the present while her memories of trauma force her back into the past. A harsh look at the history of the patriarchy in Jewish-Iranian culture.

uhhlexiconic's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Creating a veil of memory over the proceedings with flash forwards that largely confuse the narrative, the Girl from the Garden creates too muddled a picture of how women survive in a patriarchal society.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape

snoopyguy's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

jsykverd's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

steph_davidson's review against another edition

5.0

So, so, so good. Generations of family with secrets, pride, jealousy, honor, loyalty, and the joy and pain (but mostly pain) of life. Specific to this early 20th Century Persian Jewish family, but also universal.

rachel_reece's review

3.0

This was like the Mr. Hyde version of Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns. Very tragic! A quick and engaging read, embedded in a culture I don't know - Jews in Iran in the 1900's.

annakennstdunicht's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

michaela_lubbers's review against another edition

4.0

This is a beautifully written, lyrical and lush. It's also about absolutely miserable people, caught up in the societal norms and gender politics of early 20th century Iran. It's not an easy read and it doesn't have a happy ending.

joanne_is_from_canada's review against another edition

2.0

It's so hard to read about women who are treated as less than human for the sake of religious or cultural reasons.

I found the transitions between the modern storyteller, Mahboubeh and the past, following Rakhel a bit difficult to follow at first, until I got used to it. I'm also not sure why it was framed that way, since the daughter Mahboubed, who is telling Rakhel's story isn't supposed to know everything that happened or what happened to her mother, Khorsheed

I understand it's partially based on the author's own family history, which gives the story more dimension and an added layer of sadness. Overally I'm glad I read this one.

ashleyozery's review against another edition

3.0

I liked this story - moreso at the end, although the style of past/future was interesting. Tiny sliver of a world I'd never really thought about, despite having Persian Jewish relatives.