From the Book Jar...

Since I didn't manage to knock a book off my TBR Pile in October, I thought I'd better be sure to pull a title from my Book Jar this month. (Especially since I keep adding more books to it.)

The book: Bone Worship by Elizabeth Eslami

I picked this book up at a library book sale for 50 cents in April and it's been sitting on my shelf ever since. But not any more. I finished it two days ago, happily checked it off my To-Be-Read List, and am looking forward to drawing a new title from my Book Jar next month.

Bone Worship tells the story of Jasmine Fahroodhi, a half-Iranian, half-American college student who's one quarter away from graduating when she flunks out; and her enigmatic Iranian father, Yusef, with whom she has never been able to connect.

Having failed out of school, I'm due back home. To find a job, and, my father says, to find a husband. "Is the way it happens," he says. "Your hastegar," your marriage. A husband he will find for me in a year's time. An arrangement, neat and clean as pressed silk.

 An old world hastegar, or arranged marriage, is not what Jasmine wants, but how can she explain that to her father when they never really talk? And, sadly, it's not like she has a better plan for her life. So, she goes along with his plan...even though she's determined not to marry any man her father chooses for her. While I liked this story, I don't plan on keeping the book. Jasmine's relationship with her father, or lack thereof, is poignant, frustrating, and sad. But Jasmine's story is not without hope and a happy ending. I'm glad I didn't pay full price for this book, but it was definitely 50 cents well spent!

Similar read:
     A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea by Dina Nayeri