Customer Reviews

Harem: A Novel

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Let me start out with the positive: the story is enjoyable, and had some severe problems been corrected like they should have been during the editing/revising process, Harem would have been a wonderful book.

Now, for the problems: bad pacing, no character development, fantastical characters with no reason to be that way, and the author's demand that you completely suspend belief without telling you why. Let me go into the latter first.

Me--and most fiction readers in general--are willing to let go of reality and believe whatever the writer wants them to believe, as long as it makes sense. As long as they are told why. Mossanen never gives a reason for things; they just are. No reason or rhyme, no effort to show you something instead of just telling you. Continously throughout Harem, she flat out informs the reader of what's what, treating the reader as rather slow. Harem would have been miles ahead of where it is now quality-wise had Mossanen taken steps to correct this one flaw. The reader will accept what the writer puts out there, but she needs to know why she's accepting it. Rebekah is allowed in as the bundle woman for the Harem and is suddenly the best of the best...why? Other than being arrogant, pushy, slightly grating, and a magnificent tease, WHY? Gold Dust is requested to dance for the Shah...WHY? One page she's an unknown newbie in the harem, and on the next page, she's suddenly the favorite. WHY?

Which brings me to my next point: pacing. I don't mind spending chapters on one day and only a paragraph or two spanning ten years--if that one day is important and the ten years are not. Mossanen does not quite seem to understand this. It's not so much a problem of what she does cover. The scenes, chapters, etc in Harem are relevant...unfortunately, she leaves out years-worth of material that could make the characters more believable. (Being more thorough would have corrected a lot of the other problems I've mentioned, as well.)

I'll combine the last two: fantastical characters and little to no development. Rebekah just is the way she is. Gold Dust just is the way she is. Raven just is the way she is. They don't change, and the reader is given very little reason as to what made them the way they are. Every now and then there is a glimpse: Rebekah's abusive marriage to Jacob and feelings of abandonment by her mother, for instance. However, Mossanen abandons these too quickly when a little bit more time spent on them would make a huge difference to the likeability and understanding of a character. And I'm sorry, Ms. Mossanen, but a five year old taming a wild horse? Were this a different genre of fiction, or even were the girl's abilities explained better and buoyed by evidence in the story, I would be more open-minded regarding it. Unfortunately, the lack of character development and/or the effort to make the characters believable is enough to cripple the story.

With all that said, the story's NOT bad. It just feels as if it skipped half of the editing/revision process. A good editor could have taken care of these, and had it been so, I could easily see myself falling in love with this story. Harem is a fun read and it's very interesting. The ideas and the plot intricacies are well-thought out and obviously the products of long, hard hours at the desk, pen in hand. Mossanen definitely did her research. I just wish she would have done her editing, too.

3 stars given for the story itself. 2 stars withheld for feeling like an unfinished, disappointing product.

Harem by Dora Levy Mossanen

Last year I read Dora Levy Mossanen's debut novel HAREM, about a fictional family of women that rise above their station in life and live among the world of the Shah of Persia and his consorts. The novel takes place in 14th century Persia, during the days of the Ottoman Empire, and initially centers on the daughter of a Jewish woman living in the Jewish quarters, a life full of poverty and suffering. Rebekah is the daughter of this woman, and her mother sells her as a bride to a man called Jacob the Fatherless, thinking this will be a way to save her daughter from the same fate as hers.

Unfortunately, Jacob treats Rebekah as his property and creates a living hell for the young girl, who is barely 10 years old upon their marriage. She never sees her mother again, and is trapped with Jacob to live out the rest of her life. Before Rebekah goes to live with Jacob however, she hears a voice of a stranger, never sees his face, and thinks this is the man that her mother has promised her to marry. Her dreams are shattered once she marries Jacob, but she will never forget that voice. She carries the memory through her days of suffering under the house of Jacob, who abuses her and nearly kills her. Upon the birth of their daughter Gold Dust, Jacob brands Rebeka with a hot poker, angry that this child is not a son. He starts to believe that this child is not his child at all, accusing Rebekah of adultery, and treats the child the way he treats Rebekah.

Rebekah, like her mother before her, wants only the best for her child, and through bravery and cunning, she finds a way to give Gold Dust that life. Eventually, the young girl makes her way into the Shah's harem, and their lives are changed forever.

Ms. Mossanen paints a vivid picture of a fantastical life of 14th century Persia. Part fantasy, part history, HAREM is a book that if nothing else, will stir up the reader's interest in a life that is totally different from that of the Western World. She places a few historical events into the storyline, along with a few historical figures such as Timurlane, but there is a lot of fantasy mixed in as well. A very enjoyable piece of historical fiction, this reviewer gives HAREM an enthusiastic thumbs up.

Harem was a brief and not very involving read. The writing lacked lyricism, although it was clear the author tried very hard to peak the reader's imagination. The novel is sprinkled with magical realism without any follow through. Fantastical characters and scenes are presented more for the sake of oddity than for any emphasis on a narrative thread. The implicit promise of eroticism given by the title and subject matter also fails to meet expectations. There is nothing particularly lurid about the more perverse sex scenes, and nothing remotely sexy in those scenes intended to be viewed as romantic or intimate. Ms. Mossanen uses graphic terms to indicate the former, and more airy and vague words for the latter. Obvious reasearch went into this book, the infighting and favoritism inherent in the harem has a bitingly real feel. Unfortunately, nothing else does. And finally, how could the protaganists fail to realize where the fortune lay for so long. That was clear to the reader from the very pivotal moment where it is created in that state.

This is a book that implies an interesting read, however after about 100 or so pages it becomes clear you been swindled. The author had a much better time writing this than you will have reading it. I recommend Slammerkin, The Dress Lodger, or The Crimson Petal and the White instead, all of a different era however have much more interesting, better developed characters.

As a male reader, I was initially skeptical when a friend recommended this novel about three generations of women. Yet once I started it, I experienced one of those can't-put-it-down experiences that transcended gender. After tearing into this novel for a weekend (it's a quick read, despite being a substantial book), I recommend it very highly to every reader out there.

There are three things in particular that compel me to recommend this first novel by Mossanen. First, her writing style is simultaneously unforced and stunningly beautiful. I kept wondering aloud how this could be her first book. Second, the characters -- both female and male -- are not just well formed, they are wholly alive. Despite the book's exotic setting (ancient Persia), I felt the characters were sitting beside me (performing before me, even) as I read. Finally, the dramatic and unpredictable storyline stuck with me for days -- more than with any book I've read this year, I had been transported into the plotline, rising and falling with Rebekah, Gold Dust, and Raven. As a result, the story churned in my head for days even after I finished the book.

If you are looking for a good tale to take you someplace, this is the one.

This is a fun, frivolous, trashy, fantasy, romance novel, not worth the time for any serious reader. It should really be in that smaller paperback format.

I bought this book because the topic seemed so interesting. Her opening is strong, which further encouraged me to read it. I was disappointed to see that the characters didn't develop past the front door of their living quarters. There is nothing likable in any of them, which made the book a chore to finish reading. I kept thinking 'maybe in the next chapter something good will happen.' It never did. This read would have been much much better if the characters did something other than play the part of the harlot- which was all done rather poorly.

Mossanen didn't just dip her pen in honey, she dumped the whole honeypot all over the pages, and then added a heavy dose of saccharin. This book will probably end up being made into one of those schmaltzy cable mini-series starring a cast peppered with Hungarian unknowns and actresses like Victoria Principal and Jacqueline Bisset who haven't had much work since the last Judith Krantz mini-series.

With so many wonderful books to read, life is too short to waste your time on something like "Harem", unless you're sipping a fruity drink with a parasol on some tropical island -- and you've got a couple Tagamet standing by.

I work in a bookstore, and I hear about great new books constantly. Customers are always asking for a good read, and, when I saw a stack of copies of "Harem", I felt compelled to read it immediately. The cover must have been designed for people exactly like me. I ignored the several dozen books already on my dining room table and dove right in to "Harem."

I was hoping for another "The Red Tent" (Diamant) or "Ahab's Wife" (Naslund)--those works of women's historical fiction that make life worth living, or, at least, books worth reading. As a Jewish woman, "Harem" sounded like it had it all. A comparison to Isabel Allende in a cover page blurb was the clincher.

Having finished "Harem" this morning, I can only offer it four stars. It was a good book! It just was not a really great book.

The comparison to Allende is appropriate. Mossanen's writing is often lyrical and quite lovely. For some reason, there were multiple editing flaws in the paperback copy that I read. Her copyeditor must have been distracted. I could follow the intent, but I am irritated by easily catching more than one obvious mistake in any given book.

I found the three major female characters interesting, but not quite compelling. The excellent historical quality is what bouyed up the book. I loved the setting, and tolerated those who peopled it. Perhaps it's evidence of my sentimental nature that my two favorite characters--Hazel Boy and the rich merchant--were the two least complex and most "good." I can enjoy a complex character with shades of good and evil in his soul, but only if the plot makes it worth investing in him. "Harem" couldn't pull that off.

If you like historical fiction with female protagonists, read this book. Do not expect more than a good read, and you should enjoy the experience.

Harem, by Dora Levy Mossanen, compares favorably to the best works of magic realists such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It is an exciting, literary, sexy novel set in the harem of ancient Persia. Unforgettable characters, great dramatic scenes of intrigue and sensuality, and beautiful prose make this book well worth reading.