Half a Cup of Sand and Sky - by Nadine Bjursten (Hardcover)
About this item
Highlights
- Finalist of the PEN/Bellwether Prize for fiction, HALF A CUP OF SAND AND SKY is a moving portrait of one woman's search for love and belonging cast against a nuanced backdrop of political turmoil.It is 1977, and the anti-shah protests at Tehran University are intensifying, but Amineh is not like her peers who want a say in the future of their country.
- Benjamin Franklin Award (Bill Fisher Award - Fiction) 2024 3rd Winner
- Author(s): Nadine Bjursten
- 402 Pages
- Fiction + Literature Genres, Literary
Description
About the Book
"It is 1977, and the anti-shah protests at Tehran University are intensifying. Amineh will soon have her degree in Persian literature, but unlike her fellow students, she would rather not participate in the increasingly dangerous movement. Her thoughts are on her past of rose harvests and poetry readings under the desert sky, a past when her parents were still alive. Over a picnic, Amineh reluctantly agrees to accompany her best friend, Ava, to an underground meeting. There, she meets Farzad, an opposition leader with a plan to remove the shah and rid the world of another threat that hangs over them all. Amineh will soon find her life inextricably wound with Farzad's, and as the revolution unfolds, she will be tested by a country she doesn't recognize, by war, and by a husband who has other things on his mind. She will have to come to terms with a trauma from her past, and ultimately, she will have one final chance to choose love"--]cProvided by publisher.Book Synopsis
Finalist of the PEN/Bellwether Prize for fiction, HALF A CUP OF SAND AND SKY is a moving portrait of one woman's search for love and belonging cast against a nuanced backdrop of political turmoil.
It is 1977, and the anti-shah protests at Tehran University are intensifying, but Amineh is not like her peers who want a say in the future of their country. Her thoughts are on the beautiful literature of another era and her past of rose harvests and Sufi poetry evenings under the desert sky. A chance encounter with Farzad, an opposition leader and disarmament activist, will thrust her into a life she didn't ask for and didn't want. Nobody wanted the tyranny that is quickly turning worse than the tyranny it replaced. But maybe Amineh has been looking at her life all wrong-Maybe the thing she is seeking is not in the past at all.
Review Quotes
"Brilliantly layered and beautifully written, this PEN America finalist is both a searing character portrait and an incisive examination of Iranian history, which is at once moving and illuminating." -The Independent Review of Books, Reviewer's Pick
"This exceptional story will ignite your imagination and touch your heart." -Midwest Book Review
"A wise, beautiful novel featuring a woman facing the eternal challenge: how to create an authentic self. . . . I adored this book." -JOAN STEINAU LESTER, award-winning author of Loving Before Loving: A Marriage in Black and White
"Bjursten immerses readers in a life, a nation, and an era." -Publishers Weekly, Editor's Pick
"Richly layered. . .a real gem." -MAHBOD SERAJI, author of Rooftops of Tehran
". . .Enticing. . .Thought-provoking. . ." -Kirkus Reviews
"Bjursten's novel beautifully balances global risks with the stakes of a single woman's heart, imbuing both with compelling urgency." -IndieReader
"[This novel] will captivate folks of all genres and ages with its craft, vitality, and wisdom." -Independent Book Review, Starred Review