Tuesday Jun 18, 2013
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
THE POWERHOUSE ARENA [Dumbo]
37 Main Street
Brooklyn, NY
11201
For more information, please call 718.666.3049
RSVP appreciated: RSVP@powerHouseArena.com
-or-
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Set in post-revolutionary Iran and spanning three generations of a family washed by the tides of history, Sahar Delijani’s debut marks the arrival of a voice to watch. Drinks will be served.
About CHILDREN OF THE JACARANDA TREE:
What happens in the aftermath of a revolution, and how does the next generation begin to pick up the pieces left behind from their ancestors’ war wounds? Neda is born in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, where her mother Azar is allowed to nurse her for a few months before the arms of a guard appear at the cell door one day and, simply, take her away. Three-year-old Omid is left sitting alone at his family’s kitchen table, wide-eyed and shaking, after watching his political activist parents being handcuffed, blindfolded and hauled away. More than twenty years after the violent bloody purge that took place inside Iran’s prisons, Sheida learns that her father Amir was one of those executed, that the silent void firmly planted between her and her mother Maryam all these years was not just the sad loss that comes with death, but the anguish and horror of murder.
These are just a few of the many unforgettable characters in Sahar Delijani’s startling debut novel CHILDREN OF THE JACARANDA TREE (Atria Books; June 18, 2013; $24.99). The story, which is set in post-revolutionary Iran from 1983 to 2011, is based on the harrowing experiences of Delijani, her family and friends. Told in interconnected, alternating perspectives, it follows an unforgettable group of mothers, fathers, children, and lovers, some linked by family, others brought together by the tide of history that forces its way into their lives. Both the prisoners, not knowing whether torture, execution, or release is around the corner, and the caretakers on the outside—the grandparents and siblings holding their families together while their loved ones are imprisoned—bear the responsibility for what will happen to their children and future descendants.
And of course there are the stories of the children themselves—the children of the jacaranda tree—who are left years later with the burden of the past, the struggles the generation before them underwent, and their country’s tenuous future as a new wave of protest and political strife begins.
CHILDREN OF THE JACARANDA TREE is a moving, timely drama about three generations of men and women moved by love, inspired by poetry, and motivated by dreams of justice and freedom. For fans of The Kite Runner, it is a stunningly evocative look at the intimate side of revolution in a country where the weight of history—and its unflinching, unpredictable, ruthless reality—is always close by. It is also a brilliant tribute to anyone who has answered history’s call.
About the Author:
Sahar Delijani, a Pushcart Prize nominee, was born in Evin Prison in Tehran in 1983 and grew up in California, where she graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. She lives with her husband in Turin, Italy.
For more information, please contact
Justin Levine
email: justin@powerhousearena.com
powerHouse Arena, 37 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
tel: 212-604-9074 x109
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