TYPORAMA
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A poignant love story, Love and War in the Jewish Quarter reflects the terrible toll taken on the people of Iran by religious hatred, war, and the international greed for oil.
PRAISE FOR LOVE AND WAR IN THE JEWISH QUARTER:
Love and War in the Jewish Quarter, the newest novel by the very talented Dora Levy Mossanen, is pure pleasure from start to finish. It is a perfect blend of historical fiction set in one of the most crucial periods in modern history—World War II—and the tale of a marginalized Jewish dentist who is indispensable to those in the highest echelons of power, including the Queen of Iran. Striking the exact balance between the intimately personal and the crushing sweep of human history, this enchanting novel is steeped in an intoxicating mix of flavors ranging from Persian culture and history, to Jewish rituals of mourning, to touches of magical realism. Love and War in the Jewish Quarter is a story of worlds that are far from our own and, at the same time, evergreen truths of human nature. It grabbed me on page one and stayed with me long after I closed the book. - Deborah Goodrich Royce - Award-winning author of Ruby Falls and Finding Mrs. Ford
The setting, dialogue, and details create the ideal backdrop for the tension and intensity of this lush and lusty tale of beguiling romance. A captivating historical gem. - Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Omega Factor
"A lyrical tale filled with character, history, and drama -- but most of all, with love miraculously born of shattered worlds and courageous hearts." - Rabbi David Wolpe
"Dora Levy Mossanen is a master storyteller of historical fiction. In Love and War In the Jewish Quarter she serves up yet another feast, telling this tale with sensitivity and insight that makes the novel infinitely rich and nuanced. Fascinating characters, truly beautiful prose that is a Mossanen trademark and an incredibly complex plot make this book simply unforgettable." - M. J. Rose, NYT bestselling author of The Last Tiara
With her lyrical, evocative prose, Dora Levy Mossanen transports the reader to Tehran in the 1940's and delivers both a love story filled with passion and forbidden love and a novel rich with history and the turbulence of another era. LOVE AND WAR IN THE JEWISH QUARTER is perfect for book clubs and for anyone trying to understand the strife that is still so relevant today. - Anita Abriel, author of the international bestseller, The Light After the War
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ABOUT LOVE AND WAR IN THE JEWISH QUARTER:
Opening in Téhéran in 1941, as Iran grapples with the threat of Hitler and the brutalities of being occupied by thousands of Allied soldiers, the novel centers on Dr. Soleiman Yaran, a celebrated dentist educated in Paris before the war.
Returning to Téhéran’s Jewish Quarter, where the houses remain marked by low doors, forcing their occupants to bow like servants when they step outside, Dr. Yaran has been summoned by the Shah’s wife, Queen Fawzia Pahlavi.
Her Majesty has a toothache, and Dr. Yaran is renowned for his innovative treatments. Having introduced novocaine to Iran, where opium use is common and incompatible with the painkiller, Yaran has developed a wondrous alternative: Ruby Magic, named after his wife.
When Ruby dies in childbirth, the grief-stricken Yaran commits himself to his people, to his daughter, Neda, and to his work. If he can prove himself worthy of the Queen’s trust, perhaps the Muslim society will see their Jewish neighbors as human beings, not dirty dogs, and accept them in their own land.
As he succeeds in winning the Queen’s approval, Yaran is called upon to treat another powerful Muslim patient: the opium-addicted Governor General, a demanding, volatile, and cruel despot whom Yaran is forced to obey. What takes him by surprise is how he feels after a chance encounter with the General’s defiant and vigilantly guarded wife, the enchanting young Velvet.
Against the backdrop of military conflict, political tumult, and oppression, Love and War in the Jewish Quarter unfolds a tender and tension-packed story of forbidden love.
Will Soleiman Yaran, a widower who should be looking for a Jewish wife to raise Neda, risk his professional reputation and the safety of his entire community for a married Muslim woman?
Will Velvet risk her life to satisfy her yearning for affection and passion?
To complicate matters, Neda exhibits increasingly disturbing behavior, the General has a secret taboo of his own, and Yaran is enlisted to help secure safe passage to Palestine for a group of Polish orphans.
How it all ends is at once heartbreaking and hopeful.
Whether her setting is ancient Persia, Imperial Russia, Bel Époque France, or Los Angeles in the 1980s, Dora Levy Mossanen imbues her historical fiction with an authentic sense of time and place, grounded in exhaustive research and complemented by her keen eye for exotic details and lush descriptions, and her knack for interweaving real-life figures with fascinating, fully-realized fictional characters.
She has been hailed as “a master storyteller” (The Jewish Journal) and her work has been praised as “sensual and haunting” (Kirkus Reviews).
Mossanen’s gifts as a novelist are as powerful as ever in her latest work, Love and War in the Jewish Quarter
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
DORA LEVY MOSSANEN is the bestselling author of acclaimed works of historical fiction, including The Last Romanov and Scent of Butterflies, and a recipient of the San Diego Editors’ Choice Award.
She is a contributor to the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Huffington Post, and the Jewish Journal, and has been featured in various publications and media outlets from the Los Angeles Times to Radio Russia. Mossanen was born in Israel and moved to Iran at age nine.
Her grandfather, Dr. Habib Levy, a renowned Middle Eastern historian, introduced her to the harsh realities of life in Mahaleh, the Jewish Quarter, and the enormous challenges of being Jewish in a Muslim country.
Her family was forced to leave at the onset of the Islamic Revolution and eventually settled in Los Angeles.
Mossanen holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Master’s of Professional Writing from the University of Southern California.
A poignant love story, Love and War in the Jewish Quarter reflects the terrible toll taken on the people of Iran by religious hatred, war, and the international greed for oil.
To learn more, please visit: doralevymossanen.com
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