Gina B. Nahai

Twelve year old Yaas tells the sad tale of her mother Bahar's marriage to her father, Omid. Bahar had come from a poor family full of shame. Her mother was a seamstress who cannot sew and her father was a cantor who could not carry a tune. Why Omid would want to marry beneath him is anyone's guess. Baha left school to get married during her eleventh grade year and not even a year into her marriage she was desperate to return to school. Iranian custom did not allow her to continue her show more education as a married woman. Like a child who keeps running away from home, Bahar kept trying to stretch her independence, only to be dragged back to the life of a housewife. One has to feel sorry for Bahar. The old adage is true: you do not know what you do not know. Bahar was so poor she didn't recognize a poor gift as a snub or insult. Iranian culture states that a divorced woman is a shame upon the family. She who separates from her husband has no rights, no family, no home, no money; nothing to call her own. So when Omid starts a public affair with another woman, Bahar can do nothing but suffer the disgrace in silence. Nahai gracefully details the gender and religious expectations of life in Iran. show less

This stunning saga of Iranian Jewish refugees in Los Angeles is one of the best books I have read this year.

The story concerns Raphael’s Son and his mother Raphael’s Wife (aka: The Black Bitch of Bushehr). She is the widow of a son of the wealthy, influential Soleyman family. The family rejects her claim that her son is an heir to the family; in fact, they don’t even believe that he is her son. She makes a spectacle of herself and her son by continuously banging on gates, screaming show more curses, and claiming to cast spells on the family and the estate in which they live.

There are a series of tragedies, strange natural (or unnatural) phenomena, deaths, changes of fortune that may (or may not) be mayhem caused by Raphael’s Wife. When the Islamic Revolutionaries take over the government Elizabeth (who has married into the Soleyman family) and her young daughter are the only family members left to escape. They flee to Los Angeles, nearly penniless, and must accept aid from others in the refugee community.

Raphael’s Son stays in Tehran making money by swindling the families of jailed enemies of the Revolution. Eventually he has to leave. He goes to Los Angeles swearing vengeance on the family that shunned him for so many years. His vengeance is terrible, but hollow. He never achieves the status and respect he hoped for, his Ponzi scheme topples, and he comes to a grisly end. There is a police investigation and we meet more colorful characters.

This is a story of rejection, revenge, and a kind of redemption, told with passion, compassion, a lot of wit, wisdom, and a touch of magical realism. Gina Nahai is from the Iranian Jewish community of Los Angeles--her family left Tehran shortly before the Revolution when she was a teenager.

The copy I read was from my local public library. show less

Gina B. Najai uses magical realism to create a multigenerational story of an Iranian Jewish family both in Iran and United States. I do not want to define magical realism but would rather you experience it. It begins as a murder mystery where almost everyone is a suspect because of the bad character of the victim. It creates the strange world of being Iranian and fitting more when the Shah was in power and being a easy target of hatred when he fell.

Fable, myth and tradition tell the story show more with rich detail. It is a story of greed, customs and culture that once worked in Iran but not in Los Angeles. It is the world where people who once had professional lives in Iran end up stocking grocery store shelves because of the inability to qualify professionally in a strange land.

This book is totally engrossing and one of the most fascinating parts was that with family prestige and tradition being so important in the Iranian Jewish community that it was still carried over and effected their lives so much when they settled in the United States. The family’s reputation was all important and without that you condemned to be lost. As with most immigrant groups, this group sought out those with the same language and culture and bonded together in sort of a defense against the outside. But this book goes into depth the whys and hows of this and brings about so much more understanding.

My only negative criticism is that there were a little too many characters to keep up with and I got a little lost at times. But this book as a whole was a feast of the customs, backgrounds and myths of the Iranian Jews.

I highly recommend reading it. If some of it seems a bit fantastic, just let yourself go and imagine the people with their strange luminescence and smells and enjoy!

I received this Advanced Reading Copy from the publishers as a win from FirstRead but the thoughts and feelings in my review are my own. show less

The Luminous Heart of Jonah S is a tale to be savored. This novel follows the Iranian Jewish family and their immigration to California. Along the way the author weaves mystical notes, biblical betrayals, and poignant love stories into a beautiful story.
Every character has a rich background that is introduced to readers at exactly the right time, albeit sometimes in a round about way. The connections between the family members is never straight forward lending a subtle taste of mystery to show more the novel. I especially loved Elizabeth, an independent woman who carries the smell of the sea with her where ever she goes. It was amazing to contrast the way Elizabeth handle hardships with the way her nephew(?), Raphael's Son, did. Many authors would try to make this contrast into a lesson. Instead, there is no judgement placed on either approach to dealing with life by the author. One could certainly argue that the lesson is to be gracious, persistent, and generous, but that isn't the point of the story. Both sides of the family win and loose important things. Ultimately, the family line continues together. That is the important thing.
I don't want to spoil the novel by giving to many details out. The novel does a splendid job of revealing all the details and connections at the perfect pace. It's like the perfect stripe tease till the end!
I think this is a wonderful novel and highly recommend it. show less