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An Iranian Mosaic

by Jennifer Cook; co-published with Oliver Books

178 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); A novel for young adults (13+) and adults; catalogue #03-0498; ISBN 1-4120-0130-7; US$19.50, C$21.95, EUR16.00, £11.00

This is a story of the friendship of three families: the Baha'i Jararis in Tehran, Iran; the Christian Townsends in Manchester, England and the Muslim Kazamis, also in Tehran. The lives of three generations are interwoven from the fifties until the revolution in the seventies and beyond.

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about the book      about the author      sample excerpts      catalogue info

About the Book An Iranian Mosaic follows the lives and the friendship of three different families. The book is divided into three parts: the nineteen fifties, sixties and seventies. The story begins in May 1955, in Tehran, when the Jarari family is attacked because they are Baha'i's, a religious minority group in Iran. It is decided that Husayn, 12, and Elahe, 11, will go to Manchester, England to stay with the Townsend family, and attend school with Elizabeth, 14 and Thomas, 12. It is very exciting and very scary for them to be so far from home. The story follows the lives of the four children in England, and back to a summer adventure in Iran. It then follows them to university in Geneva, Switzerland, where they become involved in communist intrigue. In the third part, they are adults back in Tehran and the story follows their children, Rory, Sarah and Caspian. Tehran is in turmoil. The Shah and Shahbanu leave the country to go into exile, and the Ayatollah Khomeini returns to lead the revolution.

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About the Author Jennifer Cook has lived in many parts of the world and now makes her home in Ottawa. Although her books are fiction, they are based on events, which happened in the countries where she was living at the time. She says: "I have been very fortunate to live in the most amazing countries, where I met wonderful people who allowed me to enter their lives." This is Jennifer Cook's second novel. Her first book "Flight Across the Mekong" was published in 1999 by TSAR Publications of Toronto.

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Sample Excerpts

CHAPTER ONE

It was dusk. Twelve-year-old Husayn stood perfectly still under the leafy arbour with his eyes closed. All around him, thousands and thousands of small birds were flying in from the desert to roost for the night. The beating of their wings and the clamour of their voices were almost more than he could bear. An occasional soft wing brushed against his face. Feathers, twigs and leaves cascaded lightly down, like soft rain. He opened his eyes briefly. He felt as if he was in a green tunnel, which was becoming darker and darker, and he was being beaten down, down into the vortex. The wings were beating, beating around him, and more and more were brushing against his face, his ears, and through his hair. He felt like screaming for them to stop. But he didn't. He remained silent. He was in their refuge. He was the intruder. Husayn shut his eyes again and let the sound bombard his whole being. He was there by choice. He didn't have to be there. But, in a way, he wanted to be assaulted by sound because it drowned out the other terrible pain in his mind and heart.

All at once, the whirr of wings ceased, the birdsong reached a crescendo, reminding him of a full orchestra reaching a magnificent climax and then there was complete silence. He opened his eyes. It was quite dark.

Very slowly, so as not disturb the birds, Husayn crept out to sit on the stone edge of the goldfish pond beneath the huge mulberry tree in the centre of the garden. He was literally shaking with stress and exhaustion. The only light penetrating through the dark was from the house. He felt overwhelmingly thankful that his family was safe within the confines of the high wall, which shut out a hostile world.
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CHAPTER FIVE

September turned to October, the days were cooler, gas fires were lit in the classrooms and the evenings were damp. The children hunted for conkers amongst the falling leaves and started to gather wood for the bonfire on Guy Fawkes Night.

"Remember, remember the Fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot," chorused Thomas and Elahe.

Husayn shivered in happy anticipation. All day the children had been over-excited. Now darkness had fallen. They'd had a hearty tea of buttered toast and hot chocolate, and were warmly dressed in extra woollen vests, thick socks, heavy overcoats and mufflers against the cold damp evening.

Once the guests arrived, they trooped out to the lawn where the huge bonfire, topped with their own homemade Guy, was waiting. Granny and Granddad stayed at the drawing room window with the baby cousins and Toby. Mr. Townsend warned everyone to stand back. Thomas was whooping with excitement, one hand stuffed in his pocket clutching half a dozen squibs he'd bought in a small shop after school. He planned to let them off to scare everyone silly and get them hopping. It would be a real scream. His father would be furious, but he didn't care!

John Townsend carefully lit the fire which burst into flames with a tremendous whoosh, as he'd liberally soaked it with paraffin. The orange and red flames leapt up into the darkness, and the dry wood crackled loudly. It was as bright as day around the fire. It was as if they were in a magic circle completely surrounded by inky, thick darkness.

As Husayn watched the leaping flames, he was reminded of the Naw Ruz fires- the small fires over which they jumped from the Old Year into the New Year in Iran to bring good luck. Then he pictured the flames in the garden at home consuming the trees, and he heard the cries of the villagers as they pounded on the gate, and he felt sick.

But Thomas was there beside him, jigging up and down. His face was red with excitement, and he thrust it close to Husayn's, puzzled by his grim expression. He asked a question, but Husayn didn't catch the words as suddenly the tin-can face on the Guy shot up through the air with the heat and sailed over the hedge into the darkness. Everyone-children and adults- screeched and laughed and clapped with delight. The excitement was infectious, and finally Husayn couldn't help himself, he started to jump up and down with the other children, and yelled at the top of his voice.

The fire sagged, the Guy's body toppled over and disappeared into the flames. John Townsend lit a row of rockets, which shot up into the blackness and cascaded into hundreds of multi-coloured stars, followed by Golden Rain, Roman Candles, and Catherine Wheels.

Inside the house, Toby the dog crouched beneath Granny's skirts trembling and the babies cried at the loud bangs.

Elahe covered her ears with her warmly gloved hands and her eyes shone as she watched the falling stars. Then everyone was sent shrieking, in all directions, as Thomas let off his squibs. The squibs jumped and banged, chasing everyone into the outer darkness away from the firelight.

"Thomas," bellowed John Townsend. But Thomas had disappeared around the back of the house, where he found the kitchen door unlocked. The kitchen table was laden with a feast. He grinned with delight, as he realized he was desperately hungry. He kicked off his boots, threw his coat, mitts and hat on the floor and sat down with a contented sigh.

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Catalogue Information

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