rabck from bookstogive; historical fiction about a relatively wealthy girl coming of age during the Shah's white revolution and just before the Islamic Revolution. I dipped into wikipedia at times, to understand what was going on with the class differences between Roya and Shireen, who turns out to be assisting the revolution. ( )

Potential not fulfilled in this story. ( )

Enthralling coming-of-age story set in 1968-1980 Iran. The author does a good job portraying the isolating feeling of living in a time and society where questions can't be asked and won't be answered if they are asked. ( )

I was looking for something different and unusual to read in between my obligations, and this story ticked off all of the boxes. Written as a novel, it felt more like a memoir written years after the experiences detailed within. What emerges is a love letter to the memories of an Iran long passed, the final years in the 1970’s before the Shah’s ouster and the new regime took over.

The novel reads as a first person detailing of events experienced by Roya, a young teenage girl. From her earliest exposures to the ‘radical’ in her school, a more secularized girl’s academy, a literature teacher encourages his students in dissent literature and poetry: playing to the Persian love of that literary form. Interwoven with hushed voices, secrets and secret police the story manages to present and detail a portrait of an Iran as seen by a privileged and non-religious family.

The overwhelming sense I had on completing this story was one of fond memories. It would be impossible to ignore the atrocities that were spoken of within the story, but there is that sense of the author’s regard for the country she knew as a child, and the people who formed her best memories. And it does read much like a letter to a flawed and often disagreeable lover, where you can celebrate the good and still manage to accept the reality of the bad.

Beautifully written with a depth of characterization that matures as the narrator ages, this book manages to enlighten as it entertains. The author states that she wished to answer questions for her American born children about the country of her birth, far different and more complex than the pariah that current news items in America would have you believe. In doing so, I believe she has succeeded in providing a book that makes her version of Iran accessible and easy to relate to with her wonderful prose.
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This is a story of a revolution you don't often get to hear about unless you lived near to where it takes place. The book is written in the first person, as the main character experiences the difficulties of living in Iran as the climate around her slowly, yet suddenly starts to change. The reader gets to experience the fears and frustrations of a young woman who is growing up and dealing with the emotions of gaining and losing a friend to the changes happening around them. Through her eyes we get to see the difference in religious cultures as well as the differences in class and how they effect even the smallest aspects of her life. The reader grows with her as she makes her own discoveries and eventually makes her own way in a world that is completely new and different to her.

There are many inspirational thoughts and ideas in this book and it was very interesting to see the comparison between old and new governments, to experience the changes that took place from one point in time to the next. As a reader, it was easy to get swept up into the emotions of the main character and experience things with her as opposed to simply reading about something that happened at a point in history. This book is written beautifully and should be passed along to anyone interested in Iranian culture, the revolution, or who simply wants to read a good story about struggle and surviving on to the next day beyond it. ( )