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Ein Teelöffel Land Und Meer (2000)

by Dina Nayeri(Favorite Author)

3.76 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

3866480131 (ISBN13: 9783866480131)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Mare Verlag

review 1: Put simply, ‘A teaspoon of earth and sea’ is a story of fate…Mathab and Saba are female twins growing up in 1980's Iran. When they travel to the sea to enjoy a holiday, no one could have foresaw what would occur. During the night, they slip out of their beds and run down to the sea for a swim. What happens next will change one girl’s life, and cut the other’s short.The two girls have always been taught that their fate is written in their blood, and that twins will live parallel lives despite location. The twin that survives that night comes home a changed girl; confused and in denial. A series of events lead one twin to believe that her sister and mother have travelled to America soon after that night, leaving behind one twin and their father.The twin and her fa... morether in Iran live well, in a large house. She’s is fairly well educated, and pays a Tehrani for illegal Western material: books, movies, music and magazines. She speaks english and maintains lists of English words so that one day, when her mother and sister return, she can speak with them. As she grows, she imagines a parallel life for her sister, in America, based off what she has learnt from these materials about Western life. She puts her own dreams and thoughts about Western life into these stories and they become as much about her as they are about her sister.For the most part of the book, she seems to drift along amidst people who care immensely for her. Among them, four old ladies who half-live in her father’s house. Her friends, Reza and Ponneh, are her childhood friends and her safeguard from the world.Through-out the story, she makes decisions, grows, understands, hates, loves, grieves, is challenged and ultimately begins to understand herself and her sister… wherever she might be.
review 2: I sincerely enjoyed this novel. At first I wasn't sure if I would understand the storyline or be able to follow along; but it was an easy and enjoyable read. I read sections of this novel like a mystery - gathering clues from the real situations to Saba's stories about Mahtab. Throughout the chapters, the story was ever moving always wanting me to continue to read. The beginning was a bit confusing but it worked well as we are seeing and understanding the situation through Saba's eyes. I was hooked in right from this point having read that something had happened on the beach. I was hooked because I wanted to know what happened to Mahtab and Mother. Overall I liked how the text was organized and flowed. The breakups within the chapters and sections between chapters are neatly done. However, later in the story, this flow changes. We go from Chapter 13 ending with a story from Saba about Maytab into Chapter 14; No "Khanom Chapter" in between to give some insight. I looked forward to these chapters for they help give clarity to things that I might not have understood. For example, I liked how "The Ancient One" gave us her insight on Saba's story of Mahtab getting into Havard.I also liked how Saba listed three English words she has learned then as the story unfolds, within that chapter, she applies them to the context. I do wish there was more of this style of writing; It only appears within one (maybe two) chapters. There are also Iranian words that flow with the English that are hard to understand at times. Two reoccurring words that were confusing for me were the meaning behind "yogurt" or jinns. I was hoping the section titled "Yogurt Money" would clear things up, but unfortunately I was still confused by the end of the story. The ending was a perfect wrap up. Through out the story, I think Saba was a great storyteller of Maytab's USA adventures. I also liked how we hear from Dr. Zohreh, the mothers friend, who says Mahtab is dead. These insights kept the mystery alive.I did feel the build up to Mother's and Maytab's mystery was big but once revealed, I felt I could have almost missed it. Rather than hear it from Khanom Basir, I wanted the father to tell the truth.Overall, great read that allows you to follow as the mystery Saba has held onto for so many years is discovered.(4.5 out of 5 stars)Two Notes:+ Goodreads lists 432 pages, the hard cover printed copy I read contained 420 pages. + Typo: "At thier best, they might spend hours..." (Thier is spelled incorrectly) less

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