Cry of the Peacock

by Gina B. Nahai

Book Overview

From Publishers Weekly Nahai begins her vivid, intriguing historical chronicle in the 1780s in Persia and concludes 200 years later in contemporary Iran. Following a family of Jews through seven... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0517574799
• ISBN13: 9780517574799
• Release Date: April 1991
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 341 Pages
• Weight: 1.54 lbs.

Customer Reviews

magical, poignant Iranian Jewish saga

Have you ever heard a peacock's cry? This piercing, incredibly sad shriek, at the same time melancholic, helpless and painful? Gina Barkhordar Nahai managed to capture it in her novel, which evokes similar feelings "The Cry of The Peacock" is a special story. Special in many ways - from the atmosphere, full of magic and the supernatural, through the layout, describing the fate and details of the family life, intertwining with the history of Persia (later Iran), to the choice of the Jewish minority in a Muslim country as the side from which the story is told. The book opens with the family tree, spanning six generations from 1796 to 1982, beginning with Esther the Soothsayer and Thick Pissing Isaac, in the Jewish ghetto in Esfahan, where Esther appears from nowhere and goes away like a ghost, only to haunt the generations to come. The beginning of the story is at its end, when Peacock, the old woman of 116, is imprisoned. She recalls her life and the legends of her family, starting with Esther. And from the beginning we know that all the characters will be powerful, magical and captivating. We follow the descendants of Esther through the ages. They are ordinary people, Jews without right in a Muslim country, who are regarded as dirty and unworthy, whose touch would harm the believers, relegated to rat-infested ghettos and life in poverty. Because of their position in society, however, they become an important card in the political games in Persian internal and international policy. The plot spans nearly two hundred years, but the prophecies, dreams and memories go much farther in the past, so that the reader gets a glimpse of ancient Persian myths and history from the first rulers, Cyrus and Darius, and Ismail Shah, who made Shiite Islam the national religion, and from whose times date the pogroms and repressions towards Jews in Persia. The members of Esther the Soothsayer's family tree are ordinary people, but somehow they are as important for the country, as the royal family and have an impact on the directions in Persian politics and history. On the other hand, the rulers have the strengths and weaknesses of ordinary people... The story culminates in the twentieth century, when the Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi decided to modernize Persia, renamed it Iran and rapidly tried to introduce the reforms, such as banning the veil, make-up and cinema, and, importantly for the plot, stopped the discrimination of Jews, declared them equal to Muslims and opened the ghettos. The society was not ready for such brutally fast change, and so Khomeini could emerge with his counter-revolution and introduce the Shiite rule again... "The Cry of a Peacock", however, is not a political or historical novel (for those who seek great historical info on Reza Pahlavi and Khomeini, I would recommend "The Shah of Shahs" by Ryszard Kapuscinski). It is an infused with magic story of human feelings, of borders inside us, of intolerance and hatred, but also of love and mer

HAUNTING & BEAUTIFUL

This is one of the most incredible books I've ever read. In fact, I've read it twice just to savor the language and re-enter the lives of Ester and Solomon the Man and all of the rest. It matters not if you are Iranian or Jewish, this book is a story for everyone. The characters don't just get under your skin, they burrow deep and fester, causing you to scratch and scrape until they burst forth in all of their beautiful splendor. PLEASE READ!

Beautiful and Magical...

Beautifuly written beautiful story about beautiful ancient Persia and more...With lots of facts from history and culture of Persia (now called Iran) I found this book educational and yet magical with the fascinating story plot and the way it was written. This was one of this kind of books which one doesn't want to put down and after turning to the last page one wishes it wasn't over...

A cry of delight!

As a 1st generation American, I have never been to Iran. When I picked up "Cry of the Peacock," all of a sudden, a whole world opened to me!Nahai's vivid imagery and use of magical realism entrance readers into the the scent, sound, sight, and feel of life in Iran through the many kings, the Constitutional Revolution, the reign of the Pahlavis and the present government. I learned so much of my country's history and culture. I now know why we are "a culture of sorrow" and why we have so much to offer the world.A must-read to anyone from Iran or anyone who wants to understand the beauty of the Middle East. Nahai's writing echoes Isabel Allende, Toni Morrison, and Amy Tan. It was a pleasure to read this book.

An important history of the Jews in Iran.

This book is a worthwhile predecessor to Ms. Nahai's current best-seller "Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith." Readers who've enjoyed the current novel will delight in catching up on the family history of the fascinating characters they met in "Moonlight." There is much to be learned from this earlier chapter about Jewish life in Iran.