In the Time of Our History
"I fell in love with this jewel of a novel from the first page. It’s a universal tale that naturally leads to self-reflection and conversations about the changing relationship between mothers and daughters, and the choices we make, good and bad, early in life and late, which determine our identity."
—Amy Tan, author of THE JOY LUCK CLUB
Order "In the Time of Our History"
About Susanne
Susanne Pari is a novelist, book reviewer, essayist, and interviewer. Her most recent novel, In the Time of Our History, examines the entangled lives of an Iranian American family grappling with generational culture clashes and the rebellion of its women. It was an IndieNext Pick, a Target Book Club Pick, a 2023 Women’s National Book Association Group Reads Selection, a Book Browse 2023 Best Books Selection, and a Hoopla Spotlight Selection. Her first novel, The Fortune Catcher, about the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution, was first published in 1997 and translated into six languages. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The San Francisco Chronicle, and NPR. She is a member of the National Book Critics Circle, PEN America, the Author's Guild, and the San Francisco Writers’ Grotto. She divides her time between Northern California and New York.
About The book
Advance Praise
from Booksellers and Librarians for In The Time of Our History
“In The Time of Our History is so many things – beautifully written, filled with captivating characters and a really unique look at Iranian immigrants in the U.S. during the late 1990’s. You will fall in love with the Jahani family (well, most of them) and not be ready to let them go at the end of the book.”
– Carrie Deming, The Dog Eared Book (Palmyra, NY)
“This wonderful novel is a poignant examination of what it means to be in exile, either from the country of one's birth, or of one's own heart.”
– Jennifer Dayton, Fairfield Public Library (Fairfield, CT)
“Pari gives us a poignant experience of the isolation and loss of self that is often created by cultural, physical, and familial exile and displacement. More than a lesson in Iranian culture and history, Pari is exploring the timeless theme of familial obligations and shows how pushing against long-held beliefs and expectations often leads to unexpected revelations and hidden truths you failed to see were right in front of you.”
– Cori Cusker, Bright Side Bookshop (Flagstaff, AZ)
"Pari is exploring the timeless theme of familial obligations and shows how pushing against long-held beliefs and expectations often leads to unexpected revelations and hidden truths you failed to see were right in front of you.”
– Cori Cusker, Bright Side Bookshop (Flagstaff, AZ)
“A very moving story of dysfunctional family members struggling to satisfy the universal human longing for the love of family and a place that feels like home. These characters will stay with the reader after the last page is turned.”
– Beth Mills, New Rochelle Public Library (New Rochelle, NY)
"In a work both timely and culturally relevant, this story of an Iranian American family struggling with grief will captivate readers with its nuanced characters and strong exploration of family dynamics… the roles of women in a changing society, and characters strain to find balance between a modern world and the traditional Moslem religion that is steeped in patriarchy."
– Douglas Beatty, Baltimore County Public Library (Baltimore, MD)
“A gem of a novel that immerses the reader deep into the Iranian American experience, including the ups, the downs, the drama and the secrets.”
– Fran Zeigler, Titcomb’s Bookshop (East Sandwich, MA)
“Susanne Pari has obviously placed her own heart in this story. I could feel her pain, her hope and her love for others. She has a storyteller’s gift
– the ability to mesmerize the reader who cannot resist reading just one more page.” – Linda Bond, Auntie’s Bookstore (Spokane, WA)
“Explores the fierce woman and their roles as mothers and sisters, by blood or by choice, against a rich, cultural backdrop.”
– Jennifer Winberru, Hunterdon County Library (Flemington, NJ)
In a powerful novel that is at once a multi-generational Iranian-American saga and an intimate, moving story of mothers and daughters, Susanne Pari explores the entangled lives of the Jahani family, exiled and forging new lives in an America on the cusp of upheaval.
Twelve months after her younger sister Anahita’s death, Mitra Jahani reluctantly returns to her family’s home in suburban New Jersey to observe the Iranian custom of “The One Year.” Mitra has spent her adult life liberating herself from such traditions. She doesn’t need to gather with gossipy relatives over fragrant saffron rice pudding and eggplant khoresh to remember and grieve for Ana. Her sister, as dutiful and sweet as Mitra was rebellious, is always in her heart, and so is the guilt that Mitra can neither reveal nor assuage.
For Mitra’s mother, Shireen, this homecoming is both joyful and fraught. Shireen’s husband rose to the role of family patriarch despite humble beginnings and he relishes that power, though not the responsibilities that come with it. His callous disowning of his surviving daughter compels Shireen to rethink her own role after decades of submission.
But Mitra too is suddenly forced to confront the truth about her late sister’s life, and the secrets that each of them hid to protect others. And as revelations bring Mitra and Shireen to a new understanding, they, along with the rest of the Jahani family, must consider anew the choices, bargains, and betrayals made in the name of belonging.