Together Tea audiobook

It's always through the women that the men express their agenda. Now she has to cover up so they can feel like they are in power. A marvelous book about family, love, war and togetherness.Dive into Darya and Mina’s journey from war-ridden Iran to the USA.Along with the path,,they find themselves and their love for life.Why I picked this book up:The title and the cover.Tea is a symbol of togetherness and unspoken emotions in Persian culture.I could easily feel the warmth as a tea-loving Bangladeshi.And the cover is so colorful and exotic.What compelled me to love this book•Strong female characters •Persian culture and the places-The tomb of Hafez and Saadi(Google it and you will be marveled)•The definition of life through the eyes of war escapees •Romance-levelheaded soft romance(Why would you go for a moment’s passion when you can have a life filled with soft romance!)•TogethernessA little turn off•The first few pages were a bit mediocre.The same immigrant matchmaking stuff.But the book turned out to be a butterfly I am delighted after reading this book and I look forward to reading more books from the author💕

What a wonderful story! It begins in America, where Darya, a caring mom, tells her 25 year old daughter, Mina, that she found a wonderful man she wanted her to meet. He was one out of dozens that Mina had to meet with her mom and dad present...Darya grew up in Iran, where her own mother arranged her marriage to Parviz, a kind, generous man, a doctor. Darya and Parviz married and had three children, two boys and Mina. Life was good for the family until Sadaam started bombing Iran, and war was upon them. Revolutionary guards began making demands upon the people of Iran: no dancing, no western clothes, women must cover their heads and their bodies, etc. When one of Sadaam's bombs killed Darya's mother on her way to buy a special pomegranate for her granddaughter, Parviz arranged for his family to move to America. Mina lived a life between Iran and America. Her dad had to work making pizzas until he could pass all of his tests to become a doctor once again. Her mom worked in a dry cleaner, sewing for the New York populace until Parviz could support the family once again...Mina was going to business school, instead of art school, which was her parents' wishes. When Mina decides to quit business school and take a vacation in Iran to find herself, her mom decides to join Mina to rejoin their family. It is in Iran, among family and friends, that mother and daughter begin to understand each other. It is also where Mina finds the love of her life, totally unexpectedly.This story has humor and sadness interwoven among the pages. I will repeat, this is a wonderful story!

s t u n n i n g

The domestic fiction/women's fiction novel, "Together Tea," by Marjan Kamali, published in 2013, is an absolutely wonderful book. Warm, heartfelt, and delightful. I really enjoyed it."Together Tea" centers on the bond between a mother and daughter named Mina and Darya. In 1981 (about a year after the start of the Iran-Iraq War), their immediate family leaves Tehran, Iran and moves to New York City, where they eventually become permanent U.S. residents. In 1996, Mina and Darya journey back to Tehran to see their friends and family again.The novel gives just enough information about 1970s Iran, and a brief mention in dialogue of the Iran hostage crisis (1979-1981), to provide cultural and historical context to an American (and assumed non-Iranian) reader. "Together Tea" is a book about the challenges of leaving one's homeland and finding a new place in the world. As highly educated, affluent Iranians and affluent Iranian-Americans, the two main characters and their families harbor no ill will toward the U.S. The dark, frightening realities of life in Iran that led to the 1979 Revolution are glossed over or completely unmentioned. "Together Tea" is a feel-good book, not a history lesson. It's certainly not a book that examines U.S. foreign policy or the CIA.And I'm perfectly fine with that. I'm already highly aware of that history, and this novel does an excellent job of humanizing Iranians and Iranian-Americans. This is a domestic novel, not a political diatribe. "Together Tea" certainly doesn't read like nonfiction at all. The story is sweet and endearing. It's a book that made me smile a lot and feel good. A lot of the themes in "Together Tea" are similar to those found in "Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America," a 2003 memoir by Iranian American author Firoozeh Dumas. Dumas penned a sequel memoir, "Laughing Without an Accent: Adventures of an Iranian American, at Home and Abroad" (2008), which is also delightful. Kamali's novel isn't as laugh-out-loud hilarious as Dumas's heartwarming two books, but Kamali and Dumas definitely share similar purposes in writing for a largely non-Iranian American audience. Kamali's "Together Tea" is nowhere near as dark as Marjane Satrapi's illustrated memoir, "Persepolis" (2000, 2004). But if you enjoyed the infusion of humor, warmth, and humanity found in "Persepolis," then you would absolutely enjoy "Together Tea."And if you are a reader who knows absolutely nothing about Iran or Iranians, and you enjoy domestic, contemporary fiction, then "Together Tea" would be a great introduction to the nation and its people. The characters in this book are incredibly lovable, and the author has a highly engaging prose style. I read every word of this novel, and it's a rare book that doesn't force me to skim or skip pages. "Together Tea" held me captive, with prose that is concise and evocative, and a story that kept me smiling.Five full stars. Highly recommended. "Together Tea" made me wish I could enjoy every novel I pick up as much as I enjoyed this one.

Full disclosure: Marjan Kamali is a writing friend. I loved this book from page one to the end because the characters were so engaging - and real. Some might call this a light summer read, but I believe it's a witty, humorous book with incredible poignancy and depth.Marjan, who is an Iranian American, gives readers a sense of what it was like during the Iranian revolution in the 1970s. She also takes us into the modern lives of Iranians both in Iran and in America. It's a story about a mother-daughter relationship, but it's also as much a story about immigrants in America. I highly recommend this book, not just because the author is a dear friend. It is an absolutely dear book.

Am just so glad I picked this book..It just warms the heart.It gives you a peek into a culture and traditions.

This was an easy and quick read that caught me by surprise and with a few tears also. This is the story of an Iranian family that immigrated to America in order for their children to have freedom and to live without fear. I loved Mina (the daughter), Darya (the mom), and Parviz (the dad). I found myself easily sucked into turning the pages and the world around me disappeared as I read to find out what was going to happen next. My heart was touched both when the family left Iran and when Mina and Darya returned. I could not imagine leaving my close family for so long with no knowledge of when we would meet again. The author did a great job of introducing Iranian culture and showing the beauty and color of Iran.

I loved this book, which focuses on the lives of Mina and her mom Darya, immigrants from Iran. The book begins with Darya setting up Mina with a potential husband, but the story becomes much more than that as they talk about their experiences in Iran when the Iraq/Iran war broke out, and their experiences in America when they first arrived. I love the books exploration of immigrants not feeling part of one culture or the other, where they feel like they are part of the hyphen between the two worlds. It resonated with me, although I am first generation born Taiwanese. To me, this book is ultimately a story about love, family, culture, identity, and finding your place in this world.

A perfect novel. The characters are so well drawn yet the writing is very tight; not a word wasted. Under the guise of a light, almost romantic comedy, this book examines some serious themes: the plight of the immigrant (in this case Iranian-Americans but really all immigrants anywhere) and the lives of modern Iranians. It has all the elements of a classic novel including the ending (which I of course won’t reveal here). Highly recommend to all.

"She [Mina] knew how to swing her legs on that hyphen that defined and denied who she was: Iranian-American. Neither the first word nor the second really belonged to her. Her place was on the hyphen, and on the hyphen she would stay, carrying memories of the one place from which she had come and the other place in which she must succeed."As a child immigrant myself, these words resonated deeply with me, as I too know the feeling of living on the hyphen, and especially one like Mina's which separates two very different cultures. On the surface, this is a story about a mother and daughter, and finding love. I was drawn to the title because tea with my daughters is a ritual I too engage in , enjoy and look forward to. As I got into the story and the many themes and perspectives it explored, I found myself identifying with the characters' emotions (both from my perspective as a mother of a daughter, and as a daughter myself), and also having many "I never thought of it that way, but that is so true" moments. I was deeply moved, but beyond that, I gained a deeper insight into how my mother must have felt leaving the safety and security of extended family and familiar customs, and accompany her husband to provide a better life for her children. I better appreciated how we can make wrong assumptions about people and why they do what they do when we do not stop to imagine what things might be like from their perspective. Mina, the daughter, is the character who lives on the hyphen. She is taunted at school as a youngster by Americans who call her a terrorist because she is Iranian. When she returns to Iran, her grandfather accuses her and her mother of betraying her people and her country and running to America which supported Iraq in a war which killed Iranians.She is transported to memories of the happiest times of her childhood with doting grandparents by the sights and scents of Iran when she returns as an adult. At the same time, she misses the freedom of walking with the sun on her hair in public, which is possible for her in America but not in Iran. She wishes she could have both, yet feels she has to renounce one in order to have the other....and so she lives on the hyphen...caught in between. There was another reason this book moved me so much. It was the first book I read on returning home after settling my older daughter into college in another country. I was simultaneously excited about the all the incredible growth experiences that awaited my daughter's new stage in life, and struggling to accept life without my daughter at arm's reach. I gained some much appreciated insight into coming to terms with my own current relationship transition in these words from the final chapters of the novel:"As she watched Mina go up the steps, Darya suddenly felt the impulse to rush up, grab her, and whisper , 'Mina Joon, you don't have to get married...Just continue to be my little girl, always'But instead she heard her own voice tell Mina to hurry up and get ready because the guests would be arriving soon."Later as Darya sees Mina sitting on her bed dressed in her wedding dress..." For a fleeting second, Darya had an image of having tea with her married daughter. She realised then that it wasn't the end. She and Mina would still have each other. When Mina got back from her honeymoon, Darya and Mina could go out for 'together tea' and talk about Mina's work plans, and where to buy the best moisturizer. It was a huge relief to realise that her daughter would still be hers"The mark of a really good book for me is one that leaves me feeling changed from the person I was before I read the book. "Together Tea" did that for me.

Marjan Kamli can write medical prescriptions and I would still read them! Her writing is beautiful and she conveys feelings of love, hope and sorrow in this one. She writes of longing for something unattainable for the characters and yet ends it on a positive note, making our hearts heavy but jubilant.

I love Marjan Kamali's writing; it feels just as comforting as the tea she so lovingly describes. I enjoyed this book more than The Stationary Shop, but I think the story just resonated with me in a different way.

Found this book and enjoyed it so much. Together Tea is about family. It mainly revolves around female protagonists, Darya and her daughter Mina who decide to travel to their home and relatives in Iran after years. Despite this being a story about an Iranian family who immigrate to America during the Iran-Iraqi war, there were many heartwarming and funny instances to relate to. Written so perfectly by @marjankamali7 there is never boring word or a misplaced scene. Thanks to Together Tea, I know a little better about the Iranian culture, I could travel and see the turquoise minarets of the half of world (google about this) and can try to understand a little better about the sense of belonging that an immigrant searches for.

This story is a romance taken to a new level. Yes, there's a woman whose mother wants to make her a match, using her Excel spreadsheets for find the perfect man. And the beginning is light and fun and easy to read. But part way through the novel, Mina and her mother Darya, return to their native country, Iran, and at this point, the story becomes much richer as we explore modern-day Iran through the eyes of the two women (especially in comparison to their memories of the country pre-revolution). The tension created on that trip is marvelous, and while the ending is somewhat "happily ever after," it's much more complex than that and it doesn't end exactly where you expect it to.Warning: Kamali's food descriptions are tantalizing and it made me long to try Persian food. You will be hungry reading this book!

I really liked this - a fun, multi-generational story that focuses on an Iranian-American family, particularly the mother and daughter, who're both unsettled about what they're doing in their western lives long after fleeing Iran soon after the Revolution. That their answers require them to return to Iran might surprise readers - but Kamali does a great job of showing how their lives are so much affected by the past in Iran, its joys and its heartbreaks. Well-written, engaging and joyful despite some sorrows along the way as the two women come to terms with their pasts and their selves.