I like this book. But the tempo and pacing is just off. It threw me out of the book.. it was hard to stay in the world of the book.

4 stars for this really interesting historical novel! I feel like this one took a little bit to really get interesting, but once it did, I enjoyed it. It feels like a very timely novel given the current events happening in that part of the world. The author did a good job helping the reader see through the eyes of the main character. I’m glad I read this, because there aren’t many writers out there writing from this background and perspective. Highly recommend!

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the ARC on audio in exchange for an honest review.

Congratulations to Susanne Pari on her novel IN THE TIME OF OUR HISTORY, read by Mohzan Marnò!

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Mitra is heading back to her parents New Jersey home 12 months after her sister's death, as Iranian custom dictates. This starts the deep dive into the tensions of her family where the history begins to be uncovered to reveal from where these tensions arise.

I loved listening to the family memories that felt universal with familial connections, but this took me into a Persian culture of which I have been learning more about. There were things that my friends have shared that were mirrored in this story which made me chuckle! There were also the trappings of a patriarchal system that these women were navigating through. This story takes place in the 90's with histories back to the revolutions in Iran. I felt like I learned a bit more about the Persian culture and its beautiful, complex people through this moving story.

This is another fantastic audio option. Listening to words that are not in my first language, but that I am familiar with in a small way, is so helpful. Marzhan Marnò did a beautiful job with all of this. I wouldn't have minded a bit more Farsi!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for the ALC of this lovely story. This is out today and would be a fantastic bookclub option. Absolutely recommend to family saga fans and those who are looking for a diverse read!

In the Time of Our History
By Susanne Pari

Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Narrator: Mozhan Marnó
Length:11 hours, 51 minutes


I can really fall into a book that is inspired by the author’s own family experiences and has a strong sense of place and time. In the Time of Our History explores an Iranian family’s complicated relationships following the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Mitra Jahani is an intelligent, independent thinker who was favored by her father until a daring act of rebellion results in her banishment from the family. Her sweet and dutiful sister Anahita (Ana), quick to please and submit to her father’s wishes, seems to be nothing like the firey Mitra. The story jumps to the 1990s where Mitra is a successful architect in San Francisco. Her sister Ana married, as was expected, but her life is cut short by a tragic accident. On the first anniversary of her beloved sister’s death, Mitra travels to her family home in New Jersey to participate in the custom of “The One Year.” Mitra ventures to brave her father’s ire as she couldn’t bare the disrespect to her sister’s memory by not attending. As is apt to occur, sparks fly, secrets are disclosed, and loyalties are challenged.

If you enjoy a multigenerational story about the bonds of sisterhood, the resiliency of women, and the strength women find in one another’s company while cultures clash, then this one is for you.

Sometimes I will pick up a book solely on the strength of the narrator, if the author is unknown to me. Mozhan Marnó is one of those narrators. Her rich and evocative voice and finely nuanced delivery bring this family saga to life. Her performance makes the audio format a must for any reader. Make In the Time of Our
History your next Book Club selections!

Now available for your listening pleasure! Many thanks to the author @SusannePari, @NetGalley and @HighBridgeAudio for the gift of this ALC.

Mitra Jahani is an Iranian American who recently lost her younger sister in a crash She is returning home one year later to honor her sister after death in an Iranian custom, but her relationship with her father is strained due to past choices.

This book is about so many things it’s hard to sum it up in one paragraph. It’s about culture, immigration and assimilation, relationships, grief and more. It is beautifully written and I enjoyed the narrators style bringing all of these characters to life. References to Persian culture abound in this one as well.

My favorite character was Olga, Mehtras old housekeeper that her father shipped back to Iran. I loved the relationship she had with the women in the family.

Pick this up for an engrossing book club choice. You won’t run out of things to discuss.

This one reminded me of A Woman is No Man or Thrity Umrigar's Honor. We get a story about the realities of women living in cultures / religions where they are expected to be subservient and less than. Mitra is a modern woman living in the US and although her parents live here as well, their relationship and expectations for their daughters are very traditional. In choosing herself she loses the connection with her family. She also feels incapable of forming a relationship of any substance with any man because she does not want to lose her autonomy. 

After the death of her sister, she is forced home and must confront the truths of their family. There are definitely passages that are hard to read and abuses that break your heart. (For folks who want trigger warnings there is sexual violence, verbal abuse and physical mutilation described.) I always find the idea that being an immigrant leads to this perception that someone can not be American enough and conversely to their own people, in this case Iran, they will never be Irani enough. You'd think after centuries of people moving from place to place these prejudices would fade. That celebrating your culture while enjoying being immersed in another would truly be what the modern world is about. Also the idea that if a woman is raped, she brought it on in some way is always hard to swallow, especially when even women perpetuate this idea.

We do see progress in some family members and that will have to be enough, as is true in our own families. Regardless of our cultures, in families we ignore small slights and sometimes choose to not confront the things that keep us apart. In stories like these, while there are aspects that are new or "foreign" it's always amazing to me how the human experience is quite the same.

Thanks to Highbridge Audio for gifted access to the audiobook via Netgalley. The narrator was great! All opinions above are my own.

This was such a beautiful and heart wrenching story, I am so glad I picked it up! And the narrator was fantastic! Highly recommend!!

This book was so beautiful. It deals with so many familia themes, whether than be the families were born into or the ones we create for ourselves. The story primarily follows Mitra Jahani as she works through the grief of her sister around the one year anniversary of her death. Mitra is both an independent, free thinking American woman. While at the same time, she struggles to be a good Iranian daughter for her immigrant parents. This story was beautifully written and told and I would love nothing more than to continue following these characters. This is the type of book that engrosses you into these characters lives that it becomes hard to say goodbye when you reach the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for allowing me to listen to an advanced copy of the audiobook.

I love a book that teaches me more about a culture that I am not very familiar with. This book was really beautiful and interesting! A story of family and the human spirit.

Thanks to NetGalley for this audio ARC. This book was really well done. Loved the descriptions of the Iranian family and the struggles with parental old world views and the children’s desire for autonomy . The sisters’ relationship was a little bit predictable but I loved the developing story about the mother. Very very good!

Thank You RB Media for the gifted Audio Book


In the Time of Our History by Susanne Pari was raw delight.


This was my very first audio book! I was very confused in the beginning of this book but since it was my first audio book, I wasn’t sure if it was the materials or me. It was me.
One year after the death of her sister, Mitra finds herself trying to figure out where she fits in this shifted family dynamic. Mitra is cold and brass but honest and just. As an older sister I relate so much to Mitra but the heartache of a sibling passing makes this book hard to read. Mitra’s character fades in and out of the present and childhood past that leaves you with reminders of growing up with your pesty sibling. The rich Iranian culture is woven seamlessly through this delightful read.



My first 2023 (audio) book and one I will not forget.

This was just lovely.


Review copy provided by publisher.

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This was a slow (in a good way), captivating read. It’s the late 1990’s, and Mitra is headed home to New Jersey to observe the Iranian custom of “The One Year” anniversary of her sister’s death. Mitra has a very complicated relationship with her family— her father refuses to acknowledge her existence after she made it very clear that she had no intentions of becoming a tradition Iranian mother.
There are so many layers here. In the Time of Our History explores grief, mothers and daughters, fathers and daughters, sisters, extended family relationships, romantic relationships, culture— it’s definitely a book to take your time reading.

Thank you Net Galley for an audio ARC of this book for an honest review. This book was inspired by the author by her Iranian-American experience. It's very thought provoking and rich in culture and characters. I liked it, but I think if I would have read it, it would have been a 5 star read for me. The complex ones are always better reading from a book.