Beneath the holy mountain Croagh Patrick\, in damp and lovely County Mayo\, sits the small\, sheltered village of Ba llinacroagh. To the exotic Aminpour sisters\, Ireland looks like a much-ne eded safe haven. It has been seven years since Marjan Aminpour fled Iran w ith her younger sisters\, Bahar and Layla\, and she hopes that in Ballinac roagh\, a land of &ldquo\;crazed sheep and dizzying roads\,&rdquo\; they m ight finally find a home.
\nFrom the kitchen of an old pastry shop o n Main Mall\, the sisters set about creating a Persian oasis. Soon sensuou s wafts of cardamom\, cinnamon\, and saffron float through the streets&nda sh\;an exotic aroma that announces the opening of the Babylon Café\; \, and a shock to a town that generally subsists on boiled cabbage and Gui nness served at the local tavern. And it is an affront to the senses of Ba llinacroagh&rsquo\;s uncrowned king\, Thomas McGuire. After trying to buy the old pastry shop for years and failing\, Thomas is enraged to find it o ccupied&ndash\;and by foreigners\, no less.
\nBut the mysterious\, s picy fragrances work their magic on the townsfolk\, and soon\, business is booming. Marjan is thrilled with the demand for her red lentil soup\, abg usht stew\, and rosewater baklava&ndash\;and with the transformation in he r sisters. Young Layla finds first love\, and even tense\, haunted Bahar s eems to be less nervous.
\nAnd in the stand-up-comedian-turned-pries t Father Fergal Mahoney\, the gentle\, lonely widow Estelle Delmonico\, an d the headstrong hairdresser Fiona Athey\, the sisters find a merry band o f supporters against the close-minded opposition of less welcoming village rs stuck in their ways. But the idyll is soon broken when the past rushes back to threaten the Amnipours once more\, and the lives they left behind in revolution-era Iran bleed into the present.
\nInfused with the te xtures and scents\, trials and triumphs\,s of two distinct cultures\, \;Pomegranate Soup \;is an infectious novel of magical realism. This r ichly detailed story\, highlighted with delicious recipes\, is a delectabl e journey into the heart of Persian cooking and Irish living. \;
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