The Saffron Kitchen

By: Yasmin Crowther

Narrated by: Mehr Mansuri, Ariana Fraval

Unabridged CDs - 8 CDs, 9 hours

A passionate and timely debut novel about mothers and daughters, roots and exile, from the remote mountains and riotous streets of Iran to the rain-soaked suburbs of London.

Critic reviews

"Beautiful . . . A heartfelt story about unbreakable family bonds."
-Entertainment Weekly

"A wonderfully intricate debut novel . . . exploring the potency of heritage and the pain of exile."
-Publishers Weekly, starred review

"The Saffron Kitchen has a dreamlike quality that gradually draws in and washes over a reader."
-USA Today

"A fine novel of cultural and generational tension."
-Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"A moving look at the plight of the immigrant torn between two homes."
-The Christian Science Monitor

"With richly descriptive language evoking the riotous streets of Iran to the comfortable London suburbs, Crowther's well-crafted narrative will keep readers eagerly turning the pages of this poetic debut about mothers and daughters."
-PAGES

"Crowther's debut is spellbinding, and her cross-cultural perception and empathy are illuminating and affecting."
-Booklist

"An unusual and satisfying read."
-The Guardian, London

"A book about edges . . . where unconscious drives become seemingly rational decisions; and where different cultural values confront each other . . . Crowther [is] a novelist of exceptional honesty and grace."
-The Sunday Telegraph, London

Love this book

I have never listened to this author but I really enjoyed her writing style. I felt like I was transported to a beautiful place and time. Very deep book.

The narrators were also excellent :-)

Truly Rich and Haunting

This audiobook has two excellent narrators, which beautifully reflected the thoughts and experiences of the mother and daughter of the story. I was transported to the dusty, tiny village in Iran through the descriptive and skilled writing of the author, as well as the streets of London. This was a very good story, and indeed it was haunting as well as compelling. I love how the story unfolded, as we learned more and more about Maryann’s past. I grieved with Sara as she tried to heal from her personal tragedy, and then enjoyed seeing Iran through her eyes. My heart broke for her father as he tried to cope with life as it was left to him. I highly recommend this book!

Generational Conflict

The book opens on a sad and striking note, an accident that causes Sara to lose her unborn baby. We soon learn her Iranian mother is to blame: in a London cafe, she struck out in unexpected anger at her young nephew, the boy ran into the street, and, in pulling him to safety, Sara was kicked and fell to the ground. The accident provokes her mother, Maryam, to reflect on events in her past and to leave for Iran, date of return unknown.

Crowther moves smoothly between two voices (mother and daughter), two places (London and Iran), and past and present as the women try to understand each other and the forces and persons that have shaped their lives. If you enjoy novels about culture and generational clashes, put this one on your list.

Affecting at the core

This story is a prime example of the gap between the pleasures of listening to, as opposed to reading, a story. In this case the prose is elegant and the story is true and poignant. It is affecting on many levels. But in listening to the story, it only came alive in a riveting sense at roughly the midpoint, when we are with Mariyam as a young woman in troubled times on 1950s Iran and the life-changing events of one terrible day. Much of the rest, though at times lovely and convincing, unfolded too slowly. Heavy on the texturing and the weaving, too light on engaging conflict and narrative movement.
This said, the story has cast an aura that has stayed with me, one relevant in these troubled times of alienation between the Middle East and the West. My rating is dampened by what I found as shortcomings as a narrated book (despite the excellent narration), rather than as a work of fiction.

Entertaining and Educational

This book takes place in England and Iran--the latter of which was totally foreign to me. I appreciated the separate reading voices--both the young British daughter and the heavy accent of her Iranian-born mother. The touch of brief interludes of appropriate music helped to transition the reader from one country and person to the other. I loved getting acquainted with the various customs and people in a land so far away.