Join us

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Newsletter

Shokoofeh Azar

The Gowkaran Tree in the Middle of Our Kitchen

Cover: The Gowkaran Tree in the Middle of Our Kitchen - Shokoofeh Azar

Shokoofeh Azar

The Gowkaran Tree in the Middle of Our Kitchen

2025, pp. 624, e-Book
ISBN: 9798889660989
Region: Iran
Paper edition Paper edition Paper edition
$ 14.99
PRE-ORDER NOW PRE-ORDER NOW PRE-ORDER NOW

The book

From International Booker Prize and National Book Award finalist Shokoofeh Azar, comes a stylistically audacious and emotionally powerful novel about one large, complicated family and a love affair lasting decades.

Spanning fifty years in the history of modern Iran, this lush, layered story embraces politics and family, revolution and reconstruction, loss and love as it recounts the colorful destinies of twelve children who get lost one long-ago night inside a mysterious palace.

Azar’s first novel, The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree (Europa Editions, 2020), was shortlisted for the Stella Prize for Fiction and the International Booker Prize; it was longlisted for the PEN America Award and the National Book Award for Translated Literature.

In Azar’s new novel, each lost child’s story unfolds against the backdrop of immense cultural and political transformation; lovers must survive war, revolution, and rigid social strictures to keep their love alive; family bonds are tested, especially those indissoluble connections between the living and the dead. The Gowkaran Tree in the Middle of Our Kitchen is also the moving story of one family’s efforts to preserve the richness of Iranian culture in the face of Islamic hegemony following the 1979 revolution.

The author

Shokoofeh Azar
Shokoofeh Azar moved to Australia as a political refugee in 2011. She is the author of essays, articles, and children’s books, and is the first Iranian woman to hitchhike the entire length of the Silk Road. The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree, originally written in Farsi, was shortlisted for Australia’s Stella Prize for Fiction and is her first novel to be translated into English.

Press

    From the same country

    • Cover: The Gardens of Consolation - Parisa Reza

      Parisa Reza

      The Gardens of Consolation

      2016, pp. 272, $ 16.00
      Against the backdrop of a rapidly changing Iran, Parisa Reza has written a powerful love story filled with scenes of hope and heartbreak.
    • Cover: The Man Who Snapped His Fingers - Fariba Hachtroudi

      Fariba Hachtroudi

      The Man Who Snapped His Fingers

      2016, pp. 144, $ 15.00
      Winner of the 2001 French Human Rights Prize, French-Iranian author Fariba Hachtroudi's English-language debut explores themes as old as time: the...

    More suggestions

    • Cover: The Burning Origin - Daniele Mencarelli

      Daniele Mencarelli

      The Burning Origin

      2025, pp. 192, $ 18.00
      A searing story about homecoming and belonging set in contemporary Rome 
    • Cover: Our Precious Wars - Perrine Tripier

      Perrine Tripier

      Our Precious Wars

      2025, pp. 160, $ 18.00
      An ode to memory, to home, and to the beauty of the natural world  
    • Cover: The Malcontents - Sacha Naspini

      Sacha Naspini

      The Malcontents

      2025, pp. 480, $ 20.00
      There is a village carved into the rock of the Maremma hinterland in Tuscany and its name is Le Case. A dying country. A provincial trap. A microcosm...
    • Cover: Fathers and Fugitives - SJ Naudé

      SJ Naudé

      Fathers and Fugitives

      2025, pp. 224, $ 18.95
      An inventive and emotionally charged novel about fatherhood and family, loyalty and betrayal, inheritance and belonging.
    • Cover: My Brilliant Friend Deluxe Edition: The Four Volumes - Elena Ferrante

      Elena Ferrante

      My Brilliant Friend Deluxe Edition: The Four Volumes

      2025, pp. 1248, $ 65.00
      “An unconditional masterpiece.” —Jhumpa Lahiri 
    • Cover: In a Distant Valley - Shannon Bowring

      Shannon Bowring

      In a Distant Valley

      2025, pp. 336, $ 18.00
      Both a love letter and a window into the rural places that have shaped many, In a Distant Valley sets the stage for a final act to play out...

    Join Our Newsletter and receive a FREE eBook!

    Stay updated on Europa’s forthcoming releases, author tours and major news.

    Are you a bookseller? Click here!

    Are you a librarian? Click here!

    X