pomegranate soup
marsha mehran
a reader’s guide
a conversation with marsha mehran
Question: Pomegranate Soup is your first novel. What inspired you to write this book?
Marsha Mehran: I was living in Ireland in 1999 with my husband, who is Irish.
“Multiculturalism” wasn’t even in the vernacular then; I was one of only a handful of “foreigners” living in County Mayo. When I walked down the village’s main street, people literally came out of shop doors to stare at the “brown girl” passing by! At the local pub, I was often asked if I was Japanese or Chinese (ethnic groups whose members I do not remotely resemble). During this time I met a Middle Eastern family that ran a deli outside of Castlebar. They sold cans of chickpeas, tahini, and Mediterranean condiments, which are common in supermarkets today, but were a rarity then. This Lebanese family reminded me of my own parents, who had escaped the Islamic Revolution in Iran and moved to Argentina, where they opened a Middle Eastern eatery. They carried the same haunted, lonely looks on their faces that my mother and father did when they had struggled to build a life in a country so vastly different from their homeland. The image of this family stayed in my mind, even as I moved back to New York and began writing my first novel, a story about Iranian women.
Q: Although Pomegranate Soup is not autobiographical, how much of your protagonists do you see in yourself?
MM: I am a mixture of all three sisters, actually. There is a little of the maternal Marjan, a bit of the neurotic Bahar, and even a dash of the free spirit that guides Layla, in me.
Q: Pomegranate Soup offers not only a fascinating picture of revolutionary Iran, but also a buffet of traditional Persian dishes. What inspired you to make food such a prominent aspect of the story, and is there a specific Persian dish you love the most?
MM: I’m mad about cooking. Chopping and frying is so relaxing to me; cooking is a perfect expression of love. When you give of yourself through a dish, you aren’t just feeding somebody’s physical hunger, but a deeper longing for home, for a safe place to rest. I have to say that my favorite Persian dish is gheimeh. It’s a delicious stew made from tomatoes, yellow split peas, lamb, and french-fried potatoes.
Q: Persian cuisine is still fairly unknown here in the United States. Why do you think this is?
MM: Maybe it’s a public relations thing—not enough advertising. There are approximately one million Iranian Americans living in North America, most who moved here after the revolution. So, it probably is just a matter of time, really. I’m definitely ready to spread the word!
Q: In your novel, the image of the bubbling samovar is very central to the Aminpour sisters’ café. While coffee is the stimulant of choice for many Americans, it seems the complete opposite in Iran, where an entire ritual surrounds drinking tea. Can you tell us a bit more about this?
MM: There was a period in my childhood when samovars seemed to be taking over our household. My mother had an obsession for them and scoured garage sales and Persian grocery stores for antique, brass, miniature, and electric versions of the water boiler used to make tea. No matter what time of day, visitors to our home were ensured a hot cup of tea thanks to these miraculous machines. Persian tea is easily obtained at any Middle Eastern grocery store nowadays. However, if you’re looking for an approximation in the general supermarket, an even mixture of Earl Grey and Darjeeling will do. Persian tea exudes a rich, orangey perfume and a dark amber color. The thing to remember is that Persian tea is always meant to be taken with some sort of sweet accompaniment, such as sweetened nuts, fruit, nougat candy, dried mulberries, or raisins. But beware: Persians never sweeten their tea beforehand. Rather, cubes of crystallized sugar are clenched between the teeth, before a sip is taken, allowing for the synthesis to occur right on the tongue.
Q: Persian cuisine, surprisingly enough, has influenced our own views on healthy eating. The surgeon general’s daily nutritional recommendation—the food pyramid we’ve been taught to follow for so long—has its genesis in the Persian Zoroastrian system of balancing. Where does this balancing theory come from and how is it implemented in Iranian homes today?
MM: Zoroastrianism was founded by the Persian prophet Zoroaster around 600 B.C. and is now believed to be one of the first, if not the first, monotheistic religions. It’s dualistic in nature, and its basic concept concerns opposing forces: good and evil struggling for supremacy. This theory of opposites extends to every aspect of life, including diet. Foods, like people, are believed to have natures, hot or cold, garm or sard. Melancholia or lack of energy can be treated with garm foods. Hot tempers, fevers, and nervous tension can be alleviated by sard foods. Good health is obtained when there is a balance. Most modern-day Iranians, my mother included, still believe in this system of gastronomic balancing. During my school years, if I had an important exam coming up or needed to have all my wits about me for an assignment, my mother would insist I eat ajil, a mixture made from dried fruit such as raisins and figs, and walnuts, almonds, and pistachios. She believed that this garm food would raise my energy levels and help with concentration. (I would always ace a test when I followed her advice!) To calm me down on hot days, or when I was particularly temperamental, cucumber and yogurt dip combined with white basmati rice was a good sard remedy. Likewise, in the book, Marjan keeps a close watch over her moodier sister Bahar, feeding her dishes according to her state of mind.
Q: The concept of Zoroastrian balance can be found in your novel, on a number of levels. How did it influence you when you were writing Pomegranate Soup?
MM: As I toiled on the manuscript, at some point it dawned on me that something was missing from my story—a sense of joy. A happiness and vitality that is particular to Iranians, to Persian culture itself. I wanted to express the beauty of my birthplace, a vision I knew was incongruous with the dark, violent images Westerners see when they think of Iran. Above all, I wanted readers to almost smell and taste one of Iran’s greatest contributions to the world: its delicate, perfumed cuisine. Somehow, all these memories and emotions came together as I began to write Pomegranate Soup.
It wasn’t a conscious decision of mine to incorporate the Zoroastrian system of contrast, the good and evil characters and the dramatic ups and downs of the plot. I think that without my knowing it, this Persian concept manifested itself in the story, so that when I was done with the first draft, the garm and sard elements were already there. That is the magic of writing—the synchronicity that directs the story without the writer being fully aware it is happening.
Q: In the U.S. we take our meals wherever we can—at the dinner table, on the couch, in the car—squeezing them into our busy schedules, almost like an afterthought. It’s completely the opposite in Iranian homes, with their tradition of the sofreh. How does the sofreh affect the way Iranians eat?
MM: Not until my late teens did I ever use a dining table for something other than collecting books, errant newspapers, and household bills. All my childhood meals were celebrated on a piece of embroidered cloth called the sofreh. Sitting cross-legged along its borders, families are able to “touch base” in the most fundamental of ways. It was a picnic three times a day! A typical meal could last up to two hours, and if the weather was particularly hot, the entire contingent would move outdoors. Rooftops or any patch of grass would do. In the book Marjan has a wonderful memory of spending a hot summer night eating and telling stories on her childhood home’s sunken rooftop. I, too, have distinct memories of dining around a sofreh on our rooftop in Buenos Aires, while my mother told me fantastical tales of Scheherazade and the thousand and one nights.
Q: Your book has already been translated into thirteen languages, and you have traveled around the world to talk about Pomegranate Soup . How has the book been received in different countries? Did any of the local reactions surprise you?
MM: I am continually being surprised by the varied reactions of readers, and it has been particularly interesting for me to see
how each country extracts different messages from the book. In Holland, for example, the press has focused heavily on the novel’s political side, taking on the very serious topics of immigration and integration. Italians, on the other hand, were more interested in the sensual, culinary side of the story. The jacket on the Italian edition highlights Mrs. Estelle Delmonico, the Italian character in the story, as the heroine, which I thought was wonderful. I realized that, for some people, she was more important to the story than I had previously thought. Each new opinion gives the story another layer, one that even I might not have known existed before. And of course, knowing that readers in America and around the world are now intimately acquainted with the fictional characters I brought to life is a great thrill. I feel very lucky that my first book has found such a warm, enthusiastic audience.
suggested further reading
IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT PERSIAN CULTURE, HERE ARE SOME WONDERFUL BOOKS I HAVE COME ACROSS:
Foreigner by Nahid Rachlin
Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas
Iran Awakening by Shirin Ebadi
The Iranians: Persia, Islam and the Soul of a Nation
by Sandra Mackey
Journey from the Land of No by Roya Hakakian
Lipstick Jihad by Azadeh Moaveni
A Lonely Woman: Forugh Farrokhzad and Her Poetry
by Michael C. Hillman
Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith by Gina B. Nahai
My Uncle Napoleon by Iraj Pezeshkzad
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
questions and topics for discussion
1. Each chapter in Pomegranate Soup begins with a traditional Persian recipe, which is then incorporated into the story like a character. Why do you think the author has chosen to highlight the food in this manner? How do you think the recipes guide the narrative? Is there one recipe that resonated with you more than the others? Why?
2. We first meet the three Aminpour sisters, Marjan, Bahar, and Layla, in the kitchen of the new Babylon Café. How does this setting offer a glimpse into their different personalities? If you have siblings, do you recognize the dynamics between the three sisters?
3. Marjan cooks in accordance to the Zoroastrian system of gastronomic balancing, known as sard and garm. As one of the world’s first monotheistic religions, Zoroastrianism introduced the dual ideas of good and evil, which is also practiced in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Have you ever heard of Zoroastrianism or the concepts of sard and garm (cold and hot) foods? How is this system relevant to the rest of the story?
4. Why do you think Marsha Mehran has chosen to set Pomegranate Soup in 1980s Ireland, instead of in the present? How do you think the village of Ballinacroagh perpetuates the fairy-tale image tourists often have of Ireland? In what ways, if any, does Ballinacroagh differ from this idealized picture?
5. The Aminpour sisters escape Tehran on the eve of the Islamic Revolution. What do you know of Iran’s history, particularly the revolution of 1979? Were you surprised to read that the Shah was as unpopular as he was with many Iranians? If you were around during the time of the revolution, what images do you remember receiving about it through media outlets in the West?
6. Both Marjan and Bahar were romantically involved with men who supported the Islamic Revolution. These relationships led the two women to perform revolutionary activities, which they later regretted. Do you feel either sister has come to terms with her violent past? Have you ever felt like you’ve lost your moral compass in a relationship?
7. The Babylon Café provides a venue for dreams to flourish. How do the food and the sisters’ temperaments influence the villagers to pursue dreams that may have lain hidden, even to themselves? Have you ever experienced a quiet epiphany such as the one that Father Mahoney has over a bowl of abgusht, or a more pronounced moment of transformation such as Tom Junior has in the Cat’s cottage?
8. What parallels do you find between Thomas McGuire and Hossein Jaferi? What are the differences? Can you think of any other parallels between the sisters’ experiences in the Irish village and in revolution-era Iran?
9. Marjan, Bahar, and Layla try to protect one another from the memories of the past. How is this over-protectiveness similar to events you might have experienced in your own life? Do you relate to any one sister’s methods more?
10. Croagh Patrick looms protectively over the village of Ballinacroagh. The holy mountain is where the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick, reportedly took his Lenten fast, banishing the evil spirits that had haunted him his entire life. What roles do Croagh Patrick and Saint Patrick play in Bahar’s self-revelation? What do you think initially sparked her desire to climb the mountain?
11. Young Layla and Malachy provide a romantic subplot, but what other purpose do they serve? Discuss their role in the story.
12. What would you like to see happen to the three sisters after the story ends? Do you think they have found a home in Ballinacroagh? Do you think they are ready to heal from the painful events of their past?
Born in Tehran on the eve of the Iranian Revolution, MARSHA MEHRAN escaped the upheaval with her family for the southern shores of Argentina, where her parents set up a Middle Eastern café. She now lives in New York with her Irish husband, Christopher, who is constantly called upon to taste her experimental cooking.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents
are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead,
is entirely coincidental.
2006 Random House Trade Paperback Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Marsha Mehran
Reading group guide copyright © 2006 by Random House, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Random House Trade Paperbacks,
an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group,
a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
RANDOM HOUSE TRADE PAPERBACKS and colophon
are trademarks of Random House, Inc.
READER’S CIRCLE and colophon
are trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Grateful acknowledgment is made to Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc., for permission to reprint
an excerpt from “Conquest of the Garden” from A Lonely Woman: Forugh Farrokhzad and
Her Poetry, edited by Michael C. Hillman, copyright © 1987 by Michael C. Hillman.
.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Mehran, Marsha
Pomegranate soup: a novel / Marsha Mehran.
p. cm.
eISBN : 978-0-307-43163-9
1. Iranians—Ireland—Fiction. 2. Women immigrants—Fiction.
3. Restaurateurs—Fiction. 4. Restaurants—Fiction. 5. Women cooks—
Fiction. 6. Cookery—Fiction. 7. Sisters—Fiction. 8. Ireland—
Fiction. 9. Iran—Fiction. 10. Cookery, Iranian. I. Title.
PR6113.E37P66 2005
823’.92—dc22
[B] 2004051357
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