A seductive and intriguing journey from the humble Persian Jewish quarter to the fascinating world of shahs, soothsayers, eunuchs, and sultanas, Harem follows three generations of strong-willed and cunning women: Rebekah -- a poor girl married to the abusive blacksmith, Jacob the fatherless -- who emerges from her disastrous match with a mysterious brand between her breasts; Gold Dust, Rebekah's treasured daughter, who enters the opulent and perilous world of the harem and captivates the shah with her singing bones; and Gold Dust's daughter, the revered and feared albino princess Raven, who will one day rule the empire.

Rich in visual imagery, Harem vividly depicts the exotic bazaars and dangerous alleys of the city and palace chambers brimming with conspiracy and betrayal -- as well as love and redemption. A skillfully crafted, intricately textured novel, Harem represents the beginning of a remarkable literary career.

I found this book quite compelling - however, the subjects though were not completely filled out in their complexities - many unanswered questions - and I would have preferred to have the story actually complete itself rather than end so abrubtly. I did enjoy the fantasy portions and the vivid descriptions of the poverty of the Jewish Section and the glory and splendor of the Harem. I would recommend this book highly - and hope that the author continues the story to include the life of Raven in a more precise and complete fashion in another book in the future. Kathleen

This book really disappointed me. She ruined an otherwise interesting story line with very graphic sex scenes. While I expected this to be part of the book- given its title- it just went on and on. And on. At the same time, I found the writing to be rather juvenile, and the 'happy ending' just seemed out of place.

The back of the cover kind of says it all in this book.

I was expecting it to be really sexy and have lots of intrigue, but it was quite lacking. I actually had to put this book down, and I rarely do that for any book. The idea that a character could have "singing bones" was just too ridiculous for me.

Anyway, if you want a sultry and sexy mindless read, go for "Harem Girl" instead, this one was just too creepy.

This book starts off really good and seems promising...but then it takes an ugly turn and starts becoming absolutey disgusting! There are explicit sex scenes in this book that go beyond your imaginings. It's almost like you're reading a script for a porn movie, and there were times when I had to put the book down to recover from the author's filty words. Do yourself a favor and don't buy this book..don't even bother!!! It's disgusting and nothing but pure trash.

At least this was the central lesson I took away from Harem, a fable spun of the incredible and of the horrible. I say fable because Harem is not stretched to fit the conventions of a novel. With a certain magic of her own, the author tells a tale of three real and strong women, somehow managing to keep a thread of the fantastic throughout the least pleasant parts of the story. Sitting down with Harem is what I imagine being entertained by a troubadour would have been like.

Of course I'm not a fan of female enslavement--or enslavement of anyone. Looking through 21st century eyes, the Shah's harem seems suffocating and rather misogynistic. But this has happened, and is happening now. It's happening today in the much more subtle pressures of advertising and society, both of which can imprison a woman's spirit just as brick walls do. Books like Harem--and there are a few--do not extol the harem system, but rather the strength and cunning of the women who either thwarted it or used it to their benefit (Roxelana of Turkey, the wife of Suleyman the Magnificent, comes to mind).

Harem has moments where I was grinding my teeth in frustration or disgust. This isn't like Disney's "Aladdin" which whitewashed the classic tale. But it's all done in good taste, and nothing is gratuitous. Readers might also want to bear in mind that this book deals with the harem of the Shah of Persia. "Harem" implies the womens' quarters of any household, and certainly there have been many harems in existence. But in the West we may be more familiar with the harem of the Ottoman Sultans. I only mention this as something to think about should information not gel in one place or another.