What readers think of In the Time of Our History, plus links to write your own review.

This is a very readable book from a wonderful storyteller. Although this book tells the story of an Iranian family in the US, pre 9/11, the themes are familiar and somewhat cross cultural: gender stereotypes held and shattered, traditions and transition to a new culture, traditions that hide and cover abuse, the role of "protectors" in families and communities. I found it easy to empathize with a number of the characters, despite their shortcomings. A few characters and relationships seemed to be less developed and more about them would have enriched the story.

A good read and I will look for Pari's earlier work. I would recommend to readers who are interested in Iranian culture in the US and those who like stories about interesting families.

All I knew about this this time of history, is that the Shah and his family left Iran, and were the last monarchy exiled from the country. The US government and allies had help keep him in power with resentment from those who were not benefiting from the wealth and opportunities that many affluent and educated Iranians enjoyed. It was also the time when President Jimmy Carter had to deal with the Iranian Crisis as he lost the presidential race to Ronald Regan. And the Iranian government invited the Ayatollah to return to Iran after he was exiled from Iran for making negative remarks about the Shah and his government policies.

I never thought much about the people who were exiled from Iran. The families, teachers, engineers, and their children. The only people I knew who left Iran were Persians, Parses who immigrated to India to escape religious persecution from Muslims. Another time in our history. Many migrated to the US as movie stars and entertainers. And it wasn't for many novels of Thrity Umbrigar, I would even know little about Parsi Indian culture and difference between Hindu and Islamic Indians. So this was delightful read.

Come and meet the Jehanni family, Iranian-Americans who were exiled from Iran and escaped back to the US. Read the facets of their lives, their experiences during this time in history of history. You will be pleasantly surprised and pleased. It is wonderful to expand your knowledge about people who live around you in the world, and even in your community that is different than your own. And you cannot learn about this in a text book or in the news. One must read good literature as Susanne Pari's novel.

This book bogged down a bit for me in the beginning (and that could have been me), but once it took off it was hard to put down. 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. Interwoven with these are issues unique to immigrants, and especially to immigrants from patriarchal cultures that have traditions completely foreign to natives of the U.S. In the Time of our History will appeal to book clubs, lovers of family sagas, and readers who enjoy expanding their horizons and experiencing other cultures.

The Jahani family, exiles from the Ayatollah's Iran truly is Every Family, foreign-born or not. This would be an excellent novel for book clubs to discuss, and simply for individual readers to ponder, how we end up and stay in or leave the families we originate in. I didn't want to leave the Jahanis but instead wanted to keep on reading about their many adventures and misadventures. They represent not only Iranians trying to make their way in life, but all of us as we bumble through indelicately. The Jahanis demonstrate that we are all exiles in one way or another, but we march on regardless.

Thank you to BookBrowse for offering me the chance to preview this wonderful new book. The book arrived with two gifts from the author and publisher…two specialty flavored tea bags and a small enameled pomegranate. What a nice surprise!

In the Time of Our History is a story about the Johani family, Iranian immigrants living in America in the late 1990s. The overbearing and traditional father, the silent, suffering and submissive mother, one rebellious daughter and one good daughter. The book offers several chapters beginning with the words "In the time of our history", showing characters early lives and culture. A nice addition to the current narrative.
I will recommend this book to my book club! Lots to talk about and enjoy together.

I didn’t know what to expect when I received this book. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself thoroughly involved in the plot.

(I’ll not reprise the book, as it has already been done).

Might I just suggest that the writing is excellent and you would read an interesting and absorbing story…

A multilayer story inspired by the author's family experiences following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, In the Time of Our History tells the story of an American Iranian family, and their love for and frustrations with one another. The family has continued to embrace the richness of ancient and modern Persian history, and the novel's focus is on the traditional Iranian "One Year" remembrance after the death of her younger, more obedient sister, Anahita. Reluctantly, the older sister Mitra returns home for the occasion, but is not acknowledged by her traditionalist father Yusuf.

The blending of family traditions, acceptance, love, expectations against personal goals, and frustrations adds dimensions and cliffhangers to the evolving story—one in which the reader does not completely know all the answers until the very end. Mitra, one of the primary characters, defies expectations of arranged marriage and is living an independent life in San Francisco, where she supports the Iranian immigrant community, rather than in New Jersey with the rest of the family. But even in New Jersey there are family tensions. Even after all the years in this country, her father Yusuf believes the family should listen to him and go by his rules. His wife Shireen is at first obedient, but Yusuf's lack of empathy even after the death of his daughter has caused her to rethink her beliefs and position.

The book is rich in context, and captivates the reader through to the end. There are surprises in the plot. Moral issues arise for the characters, and many are discussed fully and frankly. An array of supporting characters adds to the understanding of how new American citizens and refugees find and adjust to life in this country, as they are supported by Mitra and her family as they adjust and in more difficult times.

When Hurricane Ian struck Florida, the power was out and destruction reigned everywhere. It was a perfect time to occupy myself, using a flashlight, to read IN THE TIME OF OUR HISTORY by Susanne Pari. This is a fast paced story of an Iranian-American family caught between the pull of the traditional Iranian culture and the pull of the modern American culture. Mitra is the sister who rebels against the traditional ways of her parents and struggles to become "a girl who wanted to be as free as a boy in choosing her future". In this struggle Mitra finds that her life lacks balance, but, at the same time, she realizes that "living" required a purpose. She finds that purpose in both her professional life and in her mentoring of Sali, a young pregnant Iranian woman.

The themes included in this novel make it ripe for discussion: the oppression of women; the oppression of minorities; sexual abuse; generational conflicts within families; and the cultural conflicts experienced by immigrants in a new land.

As one who experienced such cultural conflicts within my own immigrant family, I was drawn to this book in a personal way. I found comfort in a profound statement made my Goli toward the end of the book: "Sister, we are all Americans-all of us from an elsewhere that only exists in memory".