Praise for Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith

"A skilled and inventive writer, Nahai demonstrates in Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith that even the darkest magic cannot defeat the extraordinary powers of love — Nahai has achieved some wonderful effects, infusing everyday events with miraculous radiance."

— New York Times Book Review

"Entrancing — a voice that never loses its poise, that balances cynicism with hope, warmth with satire, the heavy ballast of life with the exhilaration of being borne aloft."

— Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Exotic and beautiful and rich — a seductive novel — A testament to the power and beauty of Gina Nahai’s writing and the world she so brilliantly illuminates. We jump on the magic carpet, soar above the Avenue of Faith, satisfied to let this gifted storyteller weave her spell."

— Boston Globe

"A novel of stunning beauty and power — a supreme accomplishment. The magical realism so perfectly wrought by Garcia Marquez has rarely been equaled, perhaps only by Toni Morrison in Song of Solomon and here in Nahai’s novel."

— Cleveland Plain Dealer

"A multigenerational story as intricate and richly hued as a Persian carpet. As she revealed in Cry of the Peacock, Nahai possesses an array of talents, all of which glitter in Moonlight. Nahai’s writing recalls that of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Amy Tan, yet her prose bears its own stamp of inventiveness and vivacity — A modern-day Scheherazade."

— Orlando Sentinel

"A sprawling tapestry of a novel … clear testimony to her skill as a storyteller. Gina Nahai works in elegant contrasts, the spellbinding extremes of the best of the magical realist tradition, conjuring a story that glows as if lit by a subtle, internal fire."

— Portland Oregonian

"A nice addition to the canon of magic realism … Ms. Nahai’s lyrical command of her words carries through consistently. The book’s effectiveness deepens into a powerful and surprising final chapter."

— Dallas Morning News

"Lyrical, beautiful … a languid, steamy read."

— Toranto Star

"Absorbing … Through the power of Nahai’s language, the past becomes present … This book is not a fairytale, not a poem, not a mystery story. Like moonlight, it is a little of each. So the Avenue of Faith is not just the novel’s setting, but also the mindset that informs its characters — and readers."

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"Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith paves the way for Ms. Nahai to claim her place among other cultural women writers such as Amy Tan and Toni Morrison. Readers will not only gain some insight into a new people, but will also discover a storyteller who captivates an audience."

— Baltimore Jewish Times

"Spellbinding … Marvelously compelling."

— Publisher's Weekly

"Highly recommended"

— Library Journal (starred review)

"Beautifully written … a lush, absorbing novel."

— Pat Holt, former editor of San Francisco Chronicle Book Review

Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith

When she is five years old, Lili, the narrator of this epic and magical tale, watches her mother, Roxanna the Angel, throw herself off the balcony of their house on the Avenue of Faith. Roxanna has left no farewell, no explanation. Her family’s subsequent search for her reveals no body, no sign of a fall, no trace of an escape. The only witness to Roxanna’s disappearance, Lili will spend the next thirteen years looking for her mother, wondering if she is still alive, wondering why she left.

This is the remarkable tale that follows Roxanna, born as a “bad-luck child” in the Jewish ghetto of Tehran, through the opulent world of Iran’s aristocracy, into the whorehouses of Turkey and at last, to Los Angeles — the city of exiles — where she and Lili are reunited. Gina B. Nahai tells the story of a courageous circle of women standing on the edge of the past, reshaping their lives in America, the land of chances and choices.

— Washington Square Press

Read an Excerpt >>

Original publisher: Harcourt & Brace, 1999
ISBN-10: 0671042831
ISBN-13: 978-0671042837

Listen to the first chapter