Together Tea

In Together Tea, Marjan Kamali’s delightful and heartwarming debut novel, Darya has discovered the perfect gift for her daughter’s twenty-fifth birthday: an ideal husband. Mina, however, is fed up with her mother’s years of endless matchmaking and the spreadsheets grading available Iranian-American bachelors. Having spent her childhood in Tehran and the rest of her life in New York City, Mina has experienced cultural clashes firsthand, but she’s learning that the greatest clashes sometimes happen at home.

After a last ill-fated attempt at matchmaking, mother and daughter embark on a return journey to Iran. Immersed once again in Persian culture, the two women gradually begin to understand each other. But when Mina falls for a young man who never appeared on her mother’s matchmaking radar, will Mina and Darya’s new-found appreciation for each other survive?

Together Tea is a moving and joyous debut novel about family, love, and finding the place you truly belong.

From BooklistJoining a growing list of Middle Eastern American immigration novels is Kamali’s lively debut about one Iranian family making the difficult adjustment to life in the U.S. Parviz and Darya; their 10-year-old daughter, Mina; and her two older brothers came to New York City in 1982, when Iraq began dropping bombs on Iran. Fifteen years later, Darya has given up her dream of becoming a mathematician, using her skills, instead, to calculate statistics pertaining to available Iranian bachelors for Mina, assigning points for everything from good teeth to graduate degrees. Mina is exasperated with her mother’s matchmaking, and disillusioned with business school. She concludes she desperately needs a break, and tells her parents she wants to journey to Iran and rediscover the country they left behind. Darya wants to accompany her daughter, so off they go—hoping to reaffirm Mina’s roots and perhaps strengthen their relationship as well. Kamali perfectly captures the sights, sounds, and smells of Tehran as relatives celebrate with one extravagant party after the other. Humor, romance, and tradition all combine in an enjoyable chick-lit tale, Iranian style. --Deborah Donovan

Review“Marjan Kamali’s thoughtful novel presents the story of a young Iranian woman’s coming of age in modern America and her mother’s parallel journey from the old world to the new. Kamali’s writing spans oceans yet depicts a common humanity—a lovely work.” (Rishi Reddi, award-winning author of Karma and Other Stories)

“Compassionate, funny, and wise, Together Tea is a treasure of a novel. Marjan Kamali creates a wonderfully loving and real story about a mother and daughter, and their complicated cultural identity. Its remarkable scope-from 1970s Tehran to 1990s New York-is beautifully rendered.” (Jill Davis, bestselling author of Girls' Poker Night)

“Smart and witty, with characters so dear you want to pack your suitcase and travel with them wherever they can take you. How lucky I feel to have been given this baklava-delicious gift of Persian immersion from a New York point of view.” (Elinor Lipman)

“Sparkling dialogue and warm characters make Kamali’s debut novel perfect for book clubs.” (Kirkus)

“Lyrical, vivid, and warm...Although there are differences in Mina’s and Darya’s American experiences, the author effectively evokes the pull both women feel toward Iran. She creates empathy for a people forced to live one life in public and another privately.” (Publishers Weekly)

“[A] lively debut...Kamali perfectly captures the sights, sounds, and smells of Tehran. Humor, romance, and tradition all combine in an enjoyable chick-lit tale, Iranian style.” (Booklist)