Scent of Butterflies

December 2, 2013
Soraya grew up in Iran surrounded by beauty and privilege. She is a photographer and independent woman, yet very much in love with Aziz, her husband. She can't bear to share himâeven with her own potential child, so she has been on the pill without his knowledge since their wedding night. Yet when she walks in on her husband and childhood friend Parvenez (whose name means "butterfly" in Farsi) in flagrante delecto, Soraya flees Iran for Los Angeles under the guise of a photo assignment and buys a Bel Air mansion with funds given to her by her grandmother She raises, collects, and kills butterflies in the eucalyptus groves of her estate and plots a revenge on her friend. "I gently remove her from between my teeth. Squeeze the thorax between thumb and forefinger. A flutter. A sigh. And the insect goes limp." Mossanen (The Last Romanov) places the story primarily in Tehran at the end of 20th century where women are covered and can only appear in public in their rapooshâ"the dull brown mandatory overcoat," hidden in their mansions they sit on antique couches, walk on Persian carpets, and eat candied almonds. Their drivers take them to parties where they enter "makeup vestibules" to apply lipstick and adjust the designer fashions hidden under their robes. Politics and history play a small part in this tale, the real story here is of friendship, betrayal, and insanity fostered in those gated mansions, lush with the scent of spice and flowers. Agent: Anna Ghosh, Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency, Inc.

November 15, 2013
Mossanen (The Last Romanov, 2012, etc.) presents a dark novel steeped in international traditions about a woman, betrayed by those whom she holds dearest, who teeters on the brink of sanity. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and professional photographer Soraya's reaction to her husband's infidelity is no exception. The only daughter of privileged upper-class Jewish Iranians, she marries soul mate Aziz when she's 15 years old. Soraya's crazy about him--and that's no exaggeration. During their 20 years of marriage, Soraya's loved Aziz so obsessively she's secretly taken birth control pills because she can't stand the thought of sharing him with anyone, even their own child. So when Soraya spies Aziz in bed with her best friend, Parnaveh, she comes unraveled and plans her own convoluted payback on the unsuspecting couple. Telling Aziz she needs to fly to LA for a photo shoot, Soraya buys a creepy old home--the mansion's atrium harbors a grave containing the cremains of the previous owner's husband and provides a fertile environment for a foul-smelling, rare and toxic plant--and begins gathering the tools for her revenge. Soon, fluttering wings swoop into the courtyard as legions of butterflies (Parnaveh means "butterfly") and an owl (similar to one her grandmother once befriended) appear and begin to roost in the trees. Soraya views these as good omens, but the author's venture into magical realism bodes ill for readers hoping for a more straightforward, down-to-earth approach. As Soraya compiles a photo album for Aziz and readies her house for her former BFF's arrival, flashbacks of her family's life before and after the Islamic Revolution dominate her thoughts. The author awkwardly weaves these sections into the story seemingly at random, but the contrasts are nevertheless interesting and relevant to understanding Soraya's mental state. By the time Parnaveh arrives in LA with Aziz in tow, most readers will already have pieced together what Soraya is about to discover. Although Mossanen's prose is at times sensual and haunting, the overall narrative never effectively transitions beyond the caterpillar stage.

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January 1, 2014
After Soraya finds out that her husband had been cheating on her with one of her closest friends, she leaves her home, family, and friends in Iran to make a new life for herself in Los Angeles. Constantly confronted with the contrasts between traditional Muslim culture and the ways of urban America, Soraya struggles to find a comfortable identity among so many conflicting ideals. It isn't until she uncovers a terrifying, amazing secret that she realizes how clear her future has suddenly become. In her latest, Mossanen (The Last Romanov, 2012) examines what happens when one woman's predictable routine, treasured relationships, and sense of self have all been shattered. Soraya's enduring love of the natural world lets Mossanen sprinkle the scientific names of many plants and insects throughout the text, which mix appealingly with the often dreamy and lyrical narration. Fans of Elizabeth Gilbert and Kristin Hannah will appreciate Soraya's story as Scent of Butterflies sets betrayal, forgiveness, identity, and obsession against the tumultuous landscapes of post-shah Iran and Southern California.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)