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annemaries_shelves's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5 stars
I'm emotionally destroyed.
The contrast between the beautiful writing with its heavy magical realism elements and the brutal realities of living through the Islamic Revolution of Iran was striking.
While ostensibly about one family's experiences from 1979 through to modern day (though time is a little weird and it's hard to gauge exactly where in history events are occurring), it much more about the village, the people, and Iranian society at large.
So much of this book is a metaphor and/or meditation on art and culture, grief and death, revolution and change, family, healing and harm, nature and spirituality.
At times it's meandering, as we will expand out beyond our main characters and narrator, to other residents of the village or events far in the past that inform the present. So much of the book is talking about the loss of history and culture when revolution (any upheaval really) denies a society's past and deems it worth destruction. Similar things can be send for the inevitability of progress and the modern world's need to expand and encroach into traditional ways of life and natural environments.
In manner ways modernity is the antithesis of magical realism - modernity and the drive for capitalism, religious orthodoxy, tyranny, autocracy, and control destroys centuries-old traditions, mythologies, and non-human inhabitants of our world (whether they be animals, or ghosts and jinns).
I teared up towards the end - the senseless destruction of personal property, family history, and culture in the name of a regime, religion, or other purpose is awful and heartbreaking and all too real. I also found the last assault against two of the characters to be really hard to handle. In part because I'd been reading a lot of heavy things recently and my threshold as almost breached, but also because it reflects reality.
The titular enlightenment, I found, to be both a blessing and a curse. To attain a higher understanding of the world, only to be uprooted and destroyed. And yet, after all the family's suffering, they were finally brought together through enlightenment of the greengage tree in death.
Overall, I really loved this book. I'm sad I didn't pick it up two years ago when I bought it, but it was worth the wait. The writing was so, so beautiful (I tabbed so many sections) and the musings on art and culture were wonderful. If you're interested in this time period of Iranian history, I really recommend picking it up. The author is a political refugee, and I think it's strongly reflected in her characters' and their experiences/perspectives of living through the Revolution.
CW: sexual assault, death, torture, imprisonment, religiously-justified tyranny, death by fire, child death
I'm emotionally destroyed.
The contrast between the beautiful writing with its heavy magical realism elements and the brutal realities of living through the Islamic Revolution of Iran was striking.
While ostensibly about one family's experiences from 1979 through to modern day (though time is a little weird and it's hard to gauge exactly where in history events are occurring), it much more about the village, the people, and Iranian society at large.
So much of this book is a metaphor and/or meditation on art and culture, grief and death, revolution and change, family, healing and harm, nature and spirituality.
At times it's meandering, as we will expand out beyond our main characters and narrator, to other residents of the village or events far in the past that inform the present. So much of the book is talking about the loss of history and culture when revolution (any upheaval really) denies a society's past and deems it worth destruction. Similar things can be send for the inevitability of progress and the modern world's need to expand and encroach into traditional ways of life and natural environments.
In manner ways modernity is the antithesis of magical realism - modernity and the drive for capitalism, religious orthodoxy, tyranny, autocracy, and control destroys centuries-old traditions, mythologies, and non-human inhabitants of our world (whether they be animals, or ghosts and jinns).
I teared up towards the end - the senseless destruction of personal property, family history, and culture in the name of a regime, religion, or other purpose is awful and heartbreaking and all too real. I also found the last assault against two of the characters to be really hard to handle. In part because I'd been reading a lot of heavy things recently and my threshold as almost breached, but also because it reflects reality.
Overall, I really loved this book. I'm sad I didn't pick it up two years ago when I bought it, but it was worth the wait. The writing was so, so beautiful (I tabbed so many sections) and the musings on art and culture were wonderful. If you're interested in this time period of Iranian history, I really recommend picking it up. The author is a political refugee, and I think it's strongly reflected in her characters' and their experiences/perspectives of living through the Revolution.
CW: sexual assault, death, torture, imprisonment, religiously-justified tyranny, death by fire, child death
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Torture, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Sexual assault
Minor: Animal death, Blood, and Pregnancy
jessamynb's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child death, Violence, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Rape, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Infertility, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, Death of parent, Death, and Confinement
hardcoverhearts's review
The torture and political violence was too much. And I suspect that it will loop throughout the story. So I doubt I can skip it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Xenophobia, Violence, Torture, Police brutality, Physical abuse, and Murder
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