Bestseller Released Today

Dear fellow Members,



I am the annoying Irish Husband of debut novelist "Marsha Mehran" and I am letting you all know her bestselling novel "Pomegranate Soup" was released in Ireland and the UK today. She was No1 in Italy and this is the first in English. Living down here in Mayo makes this story even feel more real and is brilliant to be launching here. The reviews are brill so far and hopefully will be able to make the Irish version of Under the Tuscan Sun and Chocolat be as much of a success as they were.


Christopher Collins

Annoying Irish Husband



"Pomegranate Soup" is glorious, daring and delightful. I adored the Iranian sisters, Marjan, Bahar and Layla who are looking to build a life, start a business and find love in a place so far from home. Ireland has never been more beautiful, the perfect setting for this story filled with humor, hope and possibility." -- Adriana Trigiani, Big Stone Gap and Lucia, Lucia





Pomegranate Soup



A Novel



Marsha Mehran







A funny and heart-warming debut about three sisters,

an old box of recipes and a new, exotic café in a small Irish town -- with rights already sold in twelve countries.








Beneath the holy mountain Croagh Patrick, in damp and lovely County Mayo, sits the small, sheltered village of Ballinacroagh. To the exotic Aminpour sisters, Ireland seems like a much-needed safe haven. It has been seven years since Marjan Aminpour fled Iran with her younger sisters, Bahar and Layla, and she hopes that in Ballinacroagh, a land of “crazed sheep and dizzying roads,” they might finally find a home.



From the kitchen of an old pastry shop on Main Mall, the sisters set about creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuous wafts of cardamom, cinnamon and saffron float through the streets – and exotic aroma that announces the opening of the Babylon Café, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage and Guinness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of Ballinacroagh’s uncrowned king, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old pastry shop for years and failing, Thomas is enraged to find it occupied – and by foreigners, no less.



But the mysterious, spicy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk, and soon, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil soup, abgusht stew and rosewater baklava – and with the transformation in her sisters. Young Layla finds first love, and even tense, haunted Bahar seems to be less nervous.



And in the stand-up-comedian-turned-priest Father Fergal Mahoney, the gentle, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico, and the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey, the sisters find a merry band of supporters against the close-minded opposition of less welcoming villagers stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more, and the lives they left back in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present.



Infused with the textures and scents, trials and triumphs of two distinct cultures, Pomegranate Soup is and infectious novel of magical realism. This richly detailed story, highlighted with delicious recipes, is a delectable journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living.



"Few novels have such charm, such fusion. Marsha Mehran takes one of the great staples of literature, food and its creation, and makes it the vehicle of a delightful, subtle fairytale. With a deep understanding of opposites such as whimsy and poignancy, she delivers a moving and very amusing enquiry into whether differences between peoples exist at all. " -- Frank Delaney, author of Ireland



“In one bite, exotic pomegranates offer a bittersweet reminder of where you are and where you could be. Marsha Mehran is masterful in her exploration of the worlds of the familiar vs. the unfamiliar, chuckling all the way.” -- Rocco DiSpirito, celebrity chef and author of Flavor and Rocco's Italian American



“An enchanting tale of love, family and renewal that illuminates the magical

qualities of Persian cuisine." -- Firoozeh Dumas, Funny in Farsi



“Vibrantly alive and populated with rich characters, this is a delicious first novel flavored generously with Persian spices and Irish temperaments. Marsha Mehran writes with a deft hand and a sparkling imagination.” –Amulya Malladi, Serving Crazy with Curry



"Three Iranian sisters open a restaurant in rural Ireland—in a debut that uses recipes in the heart- and stomach-warming…tradition of Like Water for Chocolate…first-timer Mehran's light-hearted voice will win readers over. Kirkus Review



"Beautiful strangers bring exotic recipes to town in Mehran's foodie-lit debut.... readers will savor the tale, not to mention the 13 recipes, including one for pomegranate soup." Publishers Weekly

Recalling James Joyce's Dubliners, this first novel by Mehran (who was born in Iran but now lives in Ireland) centers on the inhabitants of a small Irish town. When three Iranian sisters move into the former bake shop and open a Middle Eastern caf , turmoil erupts. The quirky and wonderfully fleshed-out characters who make up the populace of Ballinacroagh align with either the sisters and their exotic delicacies or the town bully, Thomas McGuire, who attempts to put them out of business. From the young and lovely Layla to resident gossip Dervla Quigley, these characters come to life; they're as uniquely simple or as deeply complex as the dishes that eldest sister Marjan concocts-recipes included! Personal demons and questioned loyalties play out like a movie on the page (think Joanne Harris's Chocolat), making the reader feel like an eyewitness to all the events. A satisfying summer read or book club pick; highly recommended. -- Library Journal
Chicago Tribune---- Books ready to be discovered and devoured

---

Books Best Read With a Helping of Fairy Dust


* Rights sold in Twelve Countries

* Includes eleven original Persian recipes


Available for pre-order from Amazon.com




Born in Tehran on the eve of the Iranian Revolution, Marsha Mehran escaped the upheaval with her family for Buenos Aires, Argentina. There her parents set up a Middle Eastern café while she attended a Scottish private academy, where the self-assured tones of bagpipes and rudimentary school kilts instilled in her a life-long love of all things Celtic. Marsha Mehran has also lived in the US and Australia. She now resides in Brooklyn, NY with her husband Christopher, who is constantly called upon to taste her experimental cooking.
Photo credit: Jordan Matter