The Fortune Catcher [Hardcover]

Susanne Pari (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1997

Like Jean P. Sassoon's Princess, this emotionally charged debut novel offers a penetrating look behind the curtain of secrecy that shrouds modern Iran, exploring the dreams of the women there and telling the dramatic story of an American-Iranian woman whose once-perfect life and love fall victim to the battle between old and new ways.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

A plot-twisting debut about two lovers caught up in the Islamic Revolution of the '70s who defy torture, a monstrous grandmother, and a psychopathic spy. In richly detailed settings that range from Long Island to Tehran, Pari offers an equally diverse range of characters to tell the story of golden couple Layla and Dariush, whose bright future will turn horribly dark. Layla, the daughter of an Iranian businessman and an American Jew whose family disowned her, was raised in New York after her mother's accidental death, but spent summers in Tehran with her family and their close neighbors. Maman Bozorg, the neighbors' matriarch, is a fervent fundamentalist who regards Layla and her father as decadent Westerners, disapproves of her own two sons and their wives, and plots to save the family by getting her two grandchildren, cousins Dariush and Mariam, to marry. Dariush loves Layla, however, and so in the US, where he's a student, the two become engaged. When the Revolution occurs, and Dariush doesn't return home, Maman schemes not only to get him back but to have him drafted, hoping that he can finally be separated from Layla while he serves behind the lines in the war against Iraq. Layla accompanies Dariush to Iran, although a fortune-teller once warned her not to--and rightly: Dariush deserts from the army, the lovers marry, but, as they're about to flee the country, Dariush is arrested and sent to the front, and Layla caught and tortured. The couple is not only up against Maman but also Amir, a Mossad spy and former schoolmate of Dariush's who hates him and wants Layla for himself. Meantime, a pregnant Layla escapes to America, but the story ratchets the tension up even farther before the badly wounded Dariush, once thought dead, can join her. The turns and twists can be more dizzying than riveting, but, still, an accomplished first novel about loving dangerously in dangerous times. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From the Publisher

This title is out of print --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 436 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446520713
• ISBN-13: 978-0446520713
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,955,179 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From revolutionary Iran, a feast of danger and romance, March 26, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fortune Catcher (Hardcover)

THE FORTUNE CATCHER is a love story set during the Iranian revolution, with all the requisite elements -- romance, danger, separation, suspense, some really vicious villains, some wonderful good guys -- in other words, a real page-turner. But the best part is author Susanne Pari's handling of the cultural material -- the holidays and customs, religious conflicts, history, politics, and the place of women within each culture. A "fire-jumping" celebration at a traditional Persian New Year's party in the opening scene becomes a metaphor for all that the Iranian/American heroine, Layla, must endure as this nerve-rattling story unfolds. Pari compares and contrasts Muslim, American, Farsi, and Israeli characters of every stripe, revealing their complex backgrounds and motivations with an incredibly deft hand and clear eye. The novel is beautifully balanced, deeply informative, and so vivid, you can see the varying landscapes, smell the air, and taste the food. If you love books that pay attention to cuisine, you'll find THE FORTUNE CATCHER an especially delicious read. Page-turner that it is, I found myself frequently pausing to re-read a particularly sensuous description. This book is one to savor!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The book that made me travel in time, August 28, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Fortune Catcher (Mass Market Paperback)

I opened Suzanne Pari's novel "The Fortune Catcher" and immidiately found myself back in Iran. Smells and noises, colors, the trembling hot air on my cheeks, a bubbling samovar, the beauty of the saffron mountains, they all appeared in front of me, surrounding me with the one and only atmosphere, the "ab-o-hava" of Iran. Ms. Pari created wonderful characters, such as that of Maman Bozorg, a cunning and manipulative family matriarch, who in her urge to control her loved-ones will not stop at anything. The book is beautifully written, so we forgive certain discrepancies, deftly concealed by the voil of the author's imagination and her profound knowledge of the country and its people. The touching story of Layla and Dariush follows in footsteps of traditional Persian literature with its romantic love poems and epics.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating while sometimes exaggerated, August 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Fortune Catcher (Mass Market Paperback)

When I first saw this book at my cousin's house, I wasn't particularily interested, but since I was bored I read it and after the first sentence I was hooked. This book is a tangled web of stories and people; colorful and dark characters. I loved the book once I was through, despite the exaggeration in it. (One character is tortured like political prisoners are, for commiting a crime that no one could be arrested for, according to my mother)I also learned a lot of Farsi, which was fun. I definitely recommend this book!