APRIL 2019 - AudioFile
Jennifer Klinec’s audiobook is a food memoir woven into an account of forbidden romance. Laurence Bouvard narrates in a light tone while describing Klinec’s culinary adventures. Then, when the author makes a sharp turn from food to love, Bouvard’s voice seems too musical for the topic: a secret romance in repressive Iran. Furthermore, Bouvard’s pace and delivery of Iranian accents distract listeners from full involvement. Still, Klinec’s story may prompt tears at its close. And listeners may be so intrigued by her descriptions of food and Iranian streets that they are inspired to learn more about this culture. M.P.P. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
The New York Times Book Review - Max Watman
[Klinec's] foodie travelogue is careful and vivid…Her story is far from what we expect to be reading, and all the better for it.
From the Publisher
"Danger and intrigue seem more the ingredients of a novel than a memoir; Klinec's book has both, though, and combined with the smells and tastes of Middle Eastern cooking, this is an addictive and romantic read."—Booklist
"By turns unsentimental and tender, Klinec's book offers insight into the delicious world of Persian cuisine as well as the surprising twists and turns of the human heart. An unexpectedly moving memoir."—Kirkus Reviews
"A cross-cultural romance with a backdrop of Middle Eastern cuisine. Conveys the fear and excitement experienced by a couple trying to get to know each other in a strictly controlled society."—The Herald, Scotland
"THE TEMPORARY BRIDE is a beautifully written window into a world few of us have ever entered: contemporary Iran in all its complexity.
Its sprawling cities and street-side eateries come to life, but most vivid is the portrait of ordinary Iranians: cooking, sharing, living, in a world where Westerners are unwelcome. A book for travellers - of the world and the senses."—The Irish Examiner
"This is amour sans frontiers. An adventure in a globalised world. Love laughs at rigorously controlled borders."—The Times
"The writing is vivid and sensual, the city of Yazd where she stays comes alive - the people, the streets, the scents, and her description of, among other things, a slaughterhouse is powerful. I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes a film."—Sydney Morning Herald
"A moving memoir about love against the odds."—Good Housekeeping's "10 best books to read this October"
"Klinec offers an insightful take on the status of Iranian women in a complex culture. She fills the pages with the tastes and scents of Iran. Most of all, Klinec illustrates that what we eat is about more than what we put into our mouths - it's a window into history and culture."—Chatelaine
"Easy-to-read, enjoyable and down to earth, THE TEMPORARY BRIDE: A memoir of love and food in Iran gives an inside look into the harsh laws of Iran and interlaces it with fantastic imagery of food, culture and love."—Glamour, South Africa
"Her descriptions of food are remarkable. She has a wonderful eye for domestic detail. They develop an intimacy against the odds. A forbidden love affair. They pursue this relationship in this really oppressive environment. The atmosphere is brooding. There is a lot of tension. I was really worried for them but there is a twist at the end. I think you'll have a very happy time reading this book."—Radio New Zealand, Nine to Noon Book Review
"The descriptions of food, aromas and places are exquisite. The characters are immensely real - flaws and imperfections intermingle with raw emotion and at times the irrational behaviour that surrounds new love. This is a memoir written with passion and honesty.
I was left feeling as if it was a novel and I was waiting for the sequel to be written and released. I eagerly wanted to hear what happens next to these two interesting main characters."—New Zealand Booklovers
"Jennifer Klinec went to Iran looking for food and found forbidden love. She writes about both with equal eloquence and panache. An absorbing, page-turning tale of one strong woman's curiosity and daring that ventures behind Iran's closed doors."—Anya Von Bremzen, author of Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing
"The way the society functions comes across beautifully.. The book delves into the complexities of a non-Western society and how someone who doesn't belong strives for acceptance. If you love food and the memories built around it, this book is for you."—Earthen Lamp Journal
"The flavours and rituals of Persian cooking, the family's rhythms and routines, life under an oppressive regime - all is acutely observed. Although no rose-tinted vision, it does shine a light on aspects of Iran we don't see in the news - the warm hospitality, the poetic wit in everyday language. A moving meditation on love across cultures and the evocative power of food. "—The Lady
"Sophisticated and precocious...careful and vivid...[Jennifer Klinec's] story is far from what we expect to be reading, and all the better for it."—New York Times Book Review
APRIL 2019 - AudioFile
Jennifer Klinec’s audiobook is a food memoir woven into an account of forbidden romance. Laurence Bouvard narrates in a light tone while describing Klinec’s culinary adventures. Then, when the author makes a sharp turn from food to love, Bouvard’s voice seems too musical for the topic: a secret romance in repressive Iran. Furthermore, Bouvard’s pace and delivery of Iranian accents distract listeners from full involvement. Still, Klinec’s story may prompt tears at its close. And listeners may be so intrigued by her descriptions of food and Iranian streets that they are inspired to learn more about this culture. M.P.P. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2016-11-20
A Canadian-born entrepreneur recounts how she went to Iran in search of culinary adventure and fell in love.Klinec was the child of immigrant "striver" parents "for whom money and gain meant everything." Wealth accumulated through an automotive manufacturing business transformed the love her mother and father had for her and her sister into "benevolent neglect." Her parents granted Klinec an extraordinary amount of freedom, which, as a teenager, she used to enroll in schools in Switzerland and Ireland and travel all over Europe. While "the sense of motion…thrilled [her]," by the time she was 17, the author also found that she loved cooking. After attending university, she moved to London, where she went to work for an investment banking firm. But the financial security so important to her parents was not enough for her. In her early 30s, she left the corporate world to start her own artisanal foods cooking school, which she ran from her apartment. Fascinated by Middle Eastern culture and food, Klinec decided to go to Iran to find recipes. Less than 24 hours after she arrived in Tehran, a man named Vahid, whose " ‘hello' was more of a bark than a greeting," approached her to practice his English. Vahid introduced Klinec to his mother, and the two women bonded as they prepared food together in the family kitchen. At the same time, the author fell in love with Vahid. Together, they sought out a mullah who would grant them status as "temporary" husband and wife and thus protect them from harsh Islamic laws against adultery. "Our relationship [was] stitched together out of fragments of devotion, strong will and despair," she writes. Yet in the end, they found belonging—and emotional nourishment—in exile. By turns unsentimental and tender, Klinec's book offers insight into the delicious world of Persian cuisine as well as the surprising twists and turns of the human heart. An unexpectedly moving memoir.
