Children of the Jacaranda Tree by Sahar Delijani

With the success of the movie Argo, a new generation is coming to learn about revolutionary Iran as a scary and dark place, but with little context for what was happening to the Iranians themselves. Children of the Jacaranda Tree offers some perspective.

Opening with a woman giving birth while being held prisoner, author Sahar Delijani tells the stories of three generations. The older generation endures imprisonment and executions for political activism during the time leading up to the 1979 revolution. The second generation is left to pick up the pieces in a country they don’t recognize, and a third grows up with fear and insecurity in broken yet loving families.

The novel explores the effect that oppression has had on relationships and how Iran’s dark history has left the younger generation searching—some for solace and some for change. Poetic writing and compelling stories transport readers to another time and place as well as a new level of understanding. (Atria)