I really did like the premise of Pomegranate Soup
: three Iranian sisters settle in the sleepy Irish village of Ballinacroagh and set up a Persian restaurant offering up the likes of red lentil soup, abgusht stew, and rosewater baklava. I flipped through the book and saw that recipes of these very Persian dishes are nestled in among the chapters. And I’m just a sucker for stories that weave tales around food and kitchens and family.
But the fact was that Pomegranate Soup was perhaps too reminiscent of Joanne Harris’ Chocolat
. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the movie version or read the book, but I remember that similar coating of magic realism and the irresistible, life- and village-changing food. And sadly, Pomegranate Soup wasn’t quite as charming as Chocolat. And while the Iranian background of the three sisters was well woven into the story and I quite adored reading about the cooking and the scents wafting around the kitchen and the village, the characters of the Irish villagers just seemed a little too stereotypical.
It was a bit of an eh read for me. I might have been better off reading a cookbook of Iranian recipes or a non-fiction work focusing on Persian cuisine.
Like this:
Be the first to like this post.
I really did like the premise of Pomegranate Soup
One comment