Dreaming in English

In this sequel to the successful Veil of Roses, Fitzgerald uses her previous fairy tale ending as the jumping-off point for an easy, mildly dramatic continuation. Tamila Soroush, a 27-year-old Iranian woman whose last-minute Vegas wedding to American darling Ike Hanson saved her from a life in Iran, returns to Tucson, Ariz., to a mother-in-law villain who so disapproves of the union that she threatens deportation. As Tami struggles with the lingering effects of growing up in Iran, she learns to fight for her dreams in an immigrant's pleasantly idealized America (the U.S. government, another villain, being the exception). While the book is predictable, somewhat clichéd, and occasionally unfocused, Fitzgerald's immensely likable narrator deflects criticism. Her story is nice to the core, despite all the conflict, and the uneasy suspicion that something patronizing lies behind the cheerful naïveté eventually dissolves like cotton candy. While Ike is cast as an American ideal, he's too entitled to garner much sympathy; instead, Tami carries that torch, acting as a touching embodiment of hope and a timely reminder that the American dream is still relevant. (Feb.)