Persian Brides - Softcover

"The energy of the writing is remarkable . . . It is as if we have entered the wildest of Chagall's paintings." (Literary Review)

"A remarkable (and well-translated) extravaganza." (Sunday Telegraph)

"Bursting with colourful stories and superstitions, the narrative seems to embrace whole lives rather than just two days. . . Rabinyan has a fresh and charming voice." (Independent on Sunday)

"Lush, lyrical and disturbing. . . Rabinyan's marvellously digressive style and rich prose give the story the feel of a night-long wedding feast." (New York Times)

Set at the turn of the century in the fictional Persian village of Omerijan, Persian Brides tells the magical story of two young girls - Flora and Nazie Ratoryan - and their many neighbors in the almond tree alley in Omerijan where they live. Fifteen-years-old, pregnant, and recently abandoned by her cloth-merchant husband, Flora longs desperately for the return of her unborn baby's father. Nazie consoles and pities her, and though she is still only a child of eleven, she yearns - just as desperately - for her own future marriage. Although the narrative spans only two days, it branches out and back, encompassing the lives and histories of many of Omerijan's inhabitants. A blend of fantasy and reality, the narrative forcefully conveys shocking cruelties endured by many of the characters while at the same time weaving a modern-day Arabic legend where snakes offer jewels in exchange for milk and death is thwarted by appeasing the village demons.