2006258 pgs.
Rating: 3/Mixed
$14.00
Ushman Khan has been in New York City for three years, establishing his very lucrative rug business. He thinks often of his home in Tabriz, Iran and waits for th day that his wife, Farak, can join him. She has stayed behind to take care of his invalid mother and find the very best rugs for Ushman to sell. He has not returned to Iran during this time, and he has heard rumors that Farak has been visited by a Turkish tailor. Through their eleven years of marriage, Farak has had five miscarriages, and it is a heavy weight on both of them. When Ushman discovers that Farak is pregnant and divorcing him to move to Istanbul, he crashes and almost burns. He continues with his business dealings, but life is joyless.
Woven throughout this narrative is the story of his relationship with Mrs. Roberts, a wealthy, older Manhattanit who has bought many carpets from him. They have a strange relationship, and it is this relationship that begins and ends the story. Full of metaphor, hidden meaning, and much sadness, Mullins has Ushman meet a 19-year old college freshman (half his age), and tells of the wiggle and dance they go through before becoming lovers. Stella has her own baggage to deal with, but her natural "Americanism" and her easy way with Ushman is the most charming part of the story.
This was sad, depressing, gave me a tiny look into another culture - a Moslem one at that - and into the heart and mind of a gentle man. I really can't say I liked the story. However, I couldn't put it down. I knew there was no happily ever after, and I think that Mullins ended the story beatifully. I'm glad I read it. I'm going to search the faces of mid-thirtyish MidEastern men now, looking for Usman.....
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