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donnaadouglas's review against another edition
4.0
This is a really interesting novel. It tells a love story from the point of view of its writer, an Iranian writer, and besides the normal struggles a writer faces with story progression and writer's block, he also is faced with the many struggles of trying to publish a novel in Iran: chiefly, the vast amount of hurdles and road-blocks that come with strict censorship.
The reader can visibly see the writer's frustration as he constantly self-edits his words by scoring them out, knowing that they will never pass the censorship commitee, knowing that he can never really tell the story in the way that he wants to.
This novel gives the reader an insight into how difficult it is for a modern-thinker to live in a country with such restrictions. It really puts light on the importance of freedom of speech, and makes you think that if people would just embrace a 'sticks and stones' mentality, then a lot of problems would be avoided. Words carry power, that's beyond a shadow of a doubt, but the person reading them carries more power, the power to control their own reaction. Crime genre novels are popular, but it doesn't make sense to assume that their readers are going to become criminals. It's ridiculous that certain novels are banned for fear of their influence. It's awful that people have to live in fear of such restrictions in the 21st century.
(By the way - if anyone reading this review, who has already read this novel, can shed a light on the hunchback midget, I'm all ears - this one escaped me!)
The reader can visibly see the writer's frustration as he constantly self-edits his words by scoring them out, knowing that they will never pass the censorship commitee, knowing that he can never really tell the story in the way that he wants to.
This novel gives the reader an insight into how difficult it is for a modern-thinker to live in a country with such restrictions. It really puts light on the importance of freedom of speech, and makes you think that if people would just embrace a 'sticks and stones' mentality, then a lot of problems would be avoided. Words carry power, that's beyond a shadow of a doubt, but the person reading them carries more power, the power to control their own reaction. Crime genre novels are popular, but it doesn't make sense to assume that their readers are going to become criminals. It's ridiculous that certain novels are banned for fear of their influence. It's awful that people have to live in fear of such restrictions in the 21st century.
(By the way - if anyone reading this review, who has already read this novel, can shed a light on the hunchback midget, I'm all ears - this one escaped me!)
alaiyo0685's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to like this book, but overall I was more intrigued by the concept than by its execution. Overall I found it difficult to follow and even tedious in places, and yet still I wanted to know what would become of Sara and Dara...
runeclausen's review against another edition
4.0
This novel is rather unique in its delivery.
It is a love story, that is intertwined with censorship, in the form of words and sentences that has been crossed out, and comments about the crossed out sections that explains why they would not be allowed in an iranian context.
So in a sense it's a triple layered story. The actual love story, which doesn't take up much of the space, the censored bits of the love story, and everything else, including commentary on the censorship, extra backstory, tangents explaining cultural background etc. etc. It is all woven together into one continuous text, which works really well as a format.
The original premise of the book is that the author wants to write a love story set in Iran that actually has a happy ending, since stories that details too much emotions and explicit interactions are not allowed in the islamic republic, in order to protect the poor innocent peoples. He does this through clever word plays, metaphors and twisting the meaning of sentences. During the story, he gets feedback from one of the (fictional) censors, Mr Petrovich, who wants certain parts remove from the story, or questions the morality of certain sections.
So even tho the "official" story is very clean and uninteresting, we, the readers, still get the full story with all the emotions and more explicit interactions. So in that sense the full novel details a very sensual relationship, that has to be kept hidden and advanced very carefully so as to not get caught.
While certain sections are certainly exaggerated, and the whole idea that certain lewd western litterature not even being allowed in Iran, is directly false, it makes the premise of writing the perfect secretly dirty romantic iranian love story more interesting.
All of this probably sounds very confusing, and like it wouldnt work at all as a story,but through the words of Mr Mandanipour it really comes to life.
It is a love story, that is intertwined with censorship, in the form of words and sentences that has been crossed out, and comments about the crossed out sections that explains why they would not be allowed in an iranian context.
So in a sense it's a triple layered story. The actual love story, which doesn't take up much of the space, the censored bits of the love story, and everything else, including commentary on the censorship, extra backstory, tangents explaining cultural background etc. etc. It is all woven together into one continuous text, which works really well as a format.
The original premise of the book is that the author wants to write a love story set in Iran that actually has a happy ending, since stories that details too much emotions and explicit interactions are not allowed in the islamic republic, in order to protect the poor innocent peoples. He does this through clever word plays, metaphors and twisting the meaning of sentences. During the story, he gets feedback from one of the (fictional) censors, Mr Petrovich, who wants certain parts remove from the story, or questions the morality of certain sections.
So even tho the "official" story is very clean and uninteresting, we, the readers, still get the full story with all the emotions and more explicit interactions. So in that sense the full novel details a very sensual relationship, that has to be kept hidden and advanced very carefully so as to not get caught.
While certain sections are certainly exaggerated, and the whole idea that certain lewd western litterature not even being allowed in Iran, is directly false, it makes the premise of writing the perfect secretly dirty romantic iranian love story more interesting.
All of this probably sounds very confusing, and like it wouldnt work at all as a story,but through the words of Mr Mandanipour it really comes to life.
farzi_q_pickle's review against another edition
4.0
3.7 stars. Rereading many years later… some parts were playful and intriguing especially the authors’ conversations with the censor and his own character and a unique way of exploring the writing process especially in the midst of so much political complexity and censorship. I guess I just didn’t really care for Dara and Sara and never found myself rooting for them.
ldv's review against another edition
4.0
It's hard to pin down my thought on this book. I recognize I am very unfamiliar with real Iranian literature, so it's difficult to distinguish between cultural characteristics and the author's style.
It is a metanarrative, in which the narrator explains why certain choices are made in the love story (the internal story) and explains a lot of the Iranian culture as it relates to literature. This dialogue is really interesting (even though it gets tedious in the middle, it picks up again) to help a Westerner like myself. It also adds humour to the novel because of the absurdity of some traditions and conventions. As the book progresses, the narrative and internal story crisscross, which is more challenging to wrap my mind around -- the lines between the two stories really blurs. Overall the interaction between the narrator and his story is intriguing from a writer's perspective and that of a storyteller.
I don't actually like Sara; she is coquettish but stubborn and arrogant...? I don't really know how to describe her, but I didn't really empathize with her. I think that's alright, though, because Dara and the narrator are the main characters, and they're more likeable.
The most similar author to which I can liken this book is [a:Thomas King|25892|Thomas King|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-M-50x66.jpg]. His [b:Green Grass Running Water|46277|Green Grass, Running Water|Thomas King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320433170s/46277.jpg|45411] blurs the lines between the metanarrative and narrative and also subtlely and artistically points out absurdities in (native Canadian) culture. Actually, I can see an interesting comparison study being possible between these two stories.
It is a metanarrative, in which the narrator explains why certain choices are made in the love story (the internal story) and explains a lot of the Iranian culture as it relates to literature. This dialogue is really interesting (even though it gets tedious in the middle, it picks up again) to help a Westerner like myself. It also adds humour to the novel because of the absurdity of some traditions and conventions. As the book progresses, the narrative and internal story crisscross, which is more challenging to wrap my mind around -- the lines between the two stories really blurs. Overall the interaction between the narrator and his story is intriguing from a writer's perspective and that of a storyteller.
I don't actually like Sara; she is coquettish but stubborn and arrogant...? I don't really know how to describe her, but I didn't really empathize with her. I think that's alright, though, because Dara and the narrator are the main characters, and they're more likeable.
The most similar author to which I can liken this book is [a:Thomas King|25892|Thomas King|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-M-50x66.jpg]. His [b:Green Grass Running Water|46277|Green Grass, Running Water|Thomas King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320433170s/46277.jpg|45411] blurs the lines between the metanarrative and narrative and also subtlely and artistically points out absurdities in (native Canadian) culture. Actually, I can see an interesting comparison study being possible between these two stories.
nglofile's review against another edition
2.0
With a strong start and a thought-provoking structure, Censoring is even more disappointing when later chapters seem to drag. Perhaps it is just a difficult conceit to sustain. The characters that I first found fascinating just became aggravating, and I strangely found myself looking forward more to the dialogue between the author and censor.
earlyandalone's review against another edition
2.0
I tried to get into this one but I just couldn't. Everything was so abstract--instead of telling a story about two characters, it felt like an allegory, with flat, stereotypical stand-ins instead of people with personalities. I know that's probably what the author's intent was, but it wasn't engaging enough for me. I've been having a hard enough time focusing on reading and this book felt like work to me.
barkylee15's review against another edition
3.0
This is more of a 2.5. I didn't hate it by any means, but neither did I absolutely love it. The reason why I couldn't love it was because of how confusing I found it at times, and I wasn't able to read it at a faster pace- it took me quite a while to finish. The way in which the book is written is interesting and unique and I appreciated that, but ultimately the ending of it did not satisfy me. I definitely enjoyed learning more about Iranian history and a culture that I know little about. I probably wouldn't really recommend it to many people because I believe it takes a certain kind-of person to really enjoy this entire novel for what it is, and I wasn't that kind-of person.
marae216's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Beautiful and full of layers
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Police brutality
Moderate: Ableism, Sexual harassment, and Medical trauma
breadandmushrooms's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75