The Good Daughter

The Good Daughter: A Memoir of My Mother's Hidden Life
by Jasmin Darznik
Grand Central Publishing, 2011. 324 pgs. Biography

Raised in California, Darznik never imagined that her mother Lili lived another life completely in Iran before marrying Darznik’s German father. Lili was married off at 13 to Kazem, a man who would prove to be violent and abusive. Lili gave birth to a daughter, Sara, but when Kazem’s abuse escalated, Lili knew she had no choice but to flee his house and seek a divorce. The move cost her Sara, as Iranian law dictates children stay with their fathers. Lili never told Jasmin about her first marriage or Sara, but when Jasmin discovers a photograph of her as a child bride, her mother dictates her life history for her.

One of my favorite aspects of this book is the amount of detail the author includes. She carefully describes the types of food her family ate, their homes, their clothing, their grooming habits, and many other aspects of life in twentieth-century Iran. The story is also compelling and really kept me reading to find out what would happen next. My only complaint is that the author focuses primarily on the action of the story and does not spend much time on Lili’s feelings or motivations. I thought the strongest chapters were those at the end when Jasmin begins describing her own life with her mother; I would love to read a second book by her that describes her own childhood in more detail. I would still recommend this book to anyone who likes reading family histories or about life in other countries.

JC