AUTHOR: Dora Levy Mossanen
STARTED: November 5, 2012
FINISHED: December 16, 2012
PAGES: 378
GENRE: Fiction
FIRST SENTENCE: Rebekah of the violet eyes heard a voice that would haunt her the rest of her life.
SUMMARY: [From Barnes and Noble] A seductive and intriguing journey from the humble Persian Jewish quarter to the fascinating world of shahs, soothsayers, eunuchs, and sultanas, Harem follows three generations of strong-willed and cunning women: Rebekah — a poor girl married to the abusive blacksmith, Jacob the fatherless — who emerges from her disastrous match with a mysterious brand between her breasts; Gold Dust, Rebekah's treasured daughter, who enters the opulent and perilous world of the harem and captivates the shah with her singing bones; and Gold Dust's daughter, the revered and feared albino princess Raven, who will one day rule the empire.
THOUGHTS: I half loved this book, and half hated it. Mossanen did a wonderful job of developing her world and characters, but the narrative left me feeling a little bored, lost and, at some points, queasy. I'm all for historical fiction books about strong women, but this story didn't quite hold up to the synopsis.
Rebekah, Gold Dust, and Raven are all interesting characters with even more fascinating convictions and motives, but I wish this was a different story. As much as I tried to fall into the plot, it just didn't hold my attention. There were certain chapters that were beautifully written and plotted, but they were few and far between. For the most part, I just couldn't care what happened to any of the leading ladies in the end. Even with the ew! scenes, I quickly decided that I was done with the story. I kept reading simply to see how it all ended.
The best part of this novel was Mossanen's writing style. I had no trouble picturing the world of and around the harem. The author used a rich vocabulary and lyrical storytelling to develop her narrative. Even when the narrative itself was lacking, the writing still kept me going. I'm a sucker for pretty words, and Mossanen crafted some beautiful pages.
I read this book because it has been sitting on my shelves for years. Now I kind of wish it had made it into one of my many weeding sessions.
RATING: 5/10 [meh.]
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