Reviews
"Aylin Sedighi Gabbaizadeh has written a beautiful book about Jewish girls and women living in Iran in the 1930’s. Under the Persimmon Tree is a story of love, sacrifice and sisterhood that is that rare thing – a book that transports you to different world but makes you feel as if you know it as well as you know the contours of your own heart and face. This is a story to be gobbled up and then savored. "
Nomi Eve, author of The Family Orchard and Henna House
Under the Persimmon Tree is an eye-opening, engrossing and deeply moving debut that lingers long after the last page. Writing with soul and wisdom, Aylin Sedighi Gabbaizadeh masterfully combines history with richly developed characters to deliver a thought-provoking tour de force that should not be missed.
Amy Blumenfeld, author of Such Good People
"Aylin Gabbaizadeh’s debut novel offers a compelling glimpse into the lives of Tehran’s Jewish community in the 1930s and 1940s. With empathy and historical insight, she follows the intertwined paths of Jasmine and Goli, revealing a world where family, faith, tradition, and the relentless expectation of bearing children—especially sons—shaped every aspect of a woman's life. An illuminating novel which introduces readers to a history that deserves to be more widely known."
Esther Amini, author of Concealed: Memoir of a Jewish-Iranian Daughter Caught Between the Chador and America
It never ceases to amaze me when I read a beautiful, well-researched novel like this how many cultures in the world proscribe similar rigid roles for women and men that are at odds with their individual desires. In UNDER THE PERSIMMON TREE, Gabbaizadeh skillfully develops two female protagonists who dream of entirely different futures while trapped in a marriage not of their making. One clings to a dream of four walls, a devoted husband and a home rampant with children while the other daydreams of exploring and erasing the boundaries in the world. When their worlds clash, Gabbaizadeh offers a resolution we couldn’t have anticipated. An absorbing, fast-paced, riveting read!
Alka Joshi, New York Times bestselling author of the Jaipur Trilogy
"Aylin Sedighi Gabbaizadeh's heart-rending debut opens a door into the lost world of her own family in Tehran's Jewish community during the 1930s and '40s. At the novel's center are Goli and Jasmine, two girls who struggle to find a path to independence and fulfillment away from the debilitating demands of their strict, patriarchal society. This tragic, powerful, and illuminating novel continues to haunt me."
Lauren Belfer, New York Times bestselling author of And After the Fire and Ashton Hall
Lush, harrowing, and deeply humane, Aylin Sedighi Gabbaizadeh illuminates a time in Iran little known to the western world. Against the backdrop of Nazi occupation, rising hostility toward Jews, and a monarchy chasing progress, Under the Persimmon brings to life a story of stolen girlhoods, defiance, courage, and an ending that will take your breath away.
Dora Levy Mossanen, Author of Love and War in the Jewish Quarter
Under the Persimmon Tree is a powerful and deeply moving novel about courage, survival, and the extraordinary lengths women will go to forge their own identities. Against the richly-drawn backdrop of Tehran beginning before the second World War, Goli and Jasmine come of age in a society determined to dictate their future for them. Yet, neither young woman is willing to surrender her hope for something more.
Full of compassion and unflinching honesty, the novel sheds light on a fascinating and often overlooked chapter of history while bringing its characters vividly to life. Through their heartbreaking, absorbing, and inspiring stories, Goli and Jasmine reveal the way fierce resilience can emerge in the face of impossible choices. Deeply researched and emotionally resonant, Under the Persimmon Tree is a stunning debut and unforgettable tribute to women who refuse to disappear.
Jacqueline Friedland, USA Today bestselling author of Counting Backwards and Breathing Under Water