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gingerwithasoul's review against another edition
2.0
It is difficult to find books in the US in both Farsi and English, so I was quite excited to find this one: a book my husband and I can read together. I read it in English and my husband in Farsi.
He abandoned it at Chapter 12.
I finished it and feel conflicted. On the one hand, I love the cultural mysticism and ancient religion woven throughout the story. The beginning is strong. On the other hand, the strong beginning gives way to a muddle of magic that detracts from the story rather than adds to it. The folktale style of writing loses emotional depth on heavy topics as everything is told from the viewpoint of a narrator watching above as opposed to the characters experiencing it themselves. It is fun at first but gets tiring eventually. I would think perhaps that magical realism is not for me, and it is true it is not what I usually reach for, but I have enjoyed other novels in this genre. Life of Pi is one of my all-time favorites.
It is like a collection of short stories with a thin thread holding them all together which makes it a structural mess of a plot. Individually, a folktale style, magical realism, and lack of a coherent story would be fine, but I think it is the combination of all of the above that made it such a difficult read for me.
The final nail in the coffin is as we get to close to the end. I really don't know why she wrote it the way she did, as if all of Iran now 30-40 years post-Revolution supports the government and hates the West. The only thing I can think of is that she knew it would sell, and on that point, she is correct. Yet this type of Western pandering does nothing to help the Iranian people. This notion of people standing around burning flags and yelling "Marg bar Amrika" (or England in this specific novel) and assaulting and arresting men who wear neckties makes it appear as if most Iranians support the government, thus giving it legitimacy. In the US at least, this type of view fuels racism on the Right who reason that Iranians hate America and would be happy to drop atomic bombs on our shores and isolationism on the Left who reason that if the Iranians support their government, it's none of our business.
My husband found this scene of the man arrested for buying a necktie utterly ridiculous in present (or near present) day Iran. This type of depiction gives the wrong impression to non-Iranians of Iranians and their views on the West in a way that is unfair and not representative of the majority. Do some participate in such endeavors? Certainly. We see them on television often enough. But her only depiction of Tehran and recent Iran are the same angry mobs Westerners see on TV, and is not an accurate representation of the current state of affairs. This is ultimately what loses me in this novel. It is a novelized version of headlines from CNN and contains no nuance at all.
He abandoned it at Chapter 12.
I finished it and feel conflicted. On the one hand, I love the cultural mysticism and ancient religion woven throughout the story. The beginning is strong. On the other hand, the strong beginning gives way to a muddle of magic that detracts from the story rather than adds to it. The folktale style of writing loses emotional depth on heavy topics as everything is told from the viewpoint of a narrator watching above as opposed to the characters experiencing it themselves. It is fun at first but gets tiring eventually. I would think perhaps that magical realism is not for me, and it is true it is not what I usually reach for, but I have enjoyed other novels in this genre. Life of Pi is one of my all-time favorites.
It is like a collection of short stories with a thin thread holding them all together which makes it a structural mess of a plot. Individually, a folktale style, magical realism, and lack of a coherent story would be fine, but I think it is the combination of all of the above that made it such a difficult read for me.
The final nail in the coffin is as we get to close to the end. I really don't know why she wrote it the way she did, as if all of Iran now 30-40 years post-Revolution supports the government and hates the West. The only thing I can think of is that she knew it would sell, and on that point, she is correct. Yet this type of Western pandering does nothing to help the Iranian people. This notion of people standing around burning flags and yelling "Marg bar Amrika" (or England in this specific novel) and assaulting and arresting men who wear neckties makes it appear as if most Iranians support the government, thus giving it legitimacy. In the US at least, this type of view fuels racism on the Right who reason that Iranians hate America and would be happy to drop atomic bombs on our shores and isolationism on the Left who reason that if the Iranians support their government, it's none of our business.
My husband found this scene of the man arrested for buying a necktie utterly ridiculous in present (or near present) day Iran. This type of depiction gives the wrong impression to non-Iranians of Iranians and their views on the West in a way that is unfair and not representative of the majority. Do some participate in such endeavors? Certainly. We see them on television often enough. But her only depiction of Tehran and recent Iran are the same angry mobs Westerners see on TV, and is not an accurate representation of the current state of affairs. This is ultimately what loses me in this novel. It is a novelized version of headlines from CNN and contains no nuance at all.
tlaynejones's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, War, Sexism, Mental illness, Grief, Misogyny, and Death
donasbooks's review against another edition
2.0
Read Around the World Challenge 2023 -- Read a book set in or written by an author born in each of 50 countries on the Asian continent: Book 17 / 50: Iran
lamensolatraboccante's review against another edition
5.0
Iran 1979. La famiglia di Bahar fugge da Teheran per cercare di scampare alla Rivoluzione e si rifugia a Razan.
Una storia di dolore e di perdita, a tratti straziante se l'autrice non avesse infuso tutto in un mondo magico e surreale.
Non ho mai letto molti libri di questo genere, ma sono rimasta molto affascinata dal realismo magico presente in questo romanzo.
Una lettura preziosa, con dei contenuti forti che esaltano l'importanza e la bellezza della cultura, ho assaporato ogni parola!
Una storia di dolore e di perdita, a tratti straziante se l'autrice non avesse infuso tutto in un mondo magico e surreale.
Non ho mai letto molti libri di questo genere, ma sono rimasta molto affascinata dal realismo magico presente in questo romanzo.
Una lettura preziosa, con dei contenuti forti che esaltano l'importanza e la bellezza della cultura, ho assaporato ogni parola!
cmorrisclark's review against another edition
4.0
Whewwwwwww. This book was heavy. And intense. And intensely critical of the Islamic Revolution and the current lack of freedoms in Iran. It was timely. It was also deeply beautiful and poetic and insightful and quirky. There is reckoning with sorrow and cruelty, with blindly engaging in violence.
It wasn't a quick read. I had to sit with the chapters. And grieve. And look up history and dates and details.
How fortunate we are that Shokoofeh Azar has leant us her beautiful voice in this stunning saga.
It wasn't a quick read. I had to sit with the chapters. And grieve. And look up history and dates and details.
How fortunate we are that Shokoofeh Azar has leant us her beautiful voice in this stunning saga.
carole888's review against another edition
4.0
I am still thinking about this book. I feel it is one that you can keep reading and each time, you will find something new that you didn’t see in it before. I am normally not a fan of magical realism and I was confused in the beginning but I kept going and then suddenly something changed and I didn’t want to stop. This is A World of Adventure by Book read and it was certainly one I wouldn’t have chosen for myself to read. Am so glad that it was picked by the group. Looking forward to the discussion.
annaresti's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A very weird book, but also a really wonderful book. Worth a re-read soon.
caramay's review against another edition
DNF @ 59%
Found myself putting the book down often and not inclined to pick up and read more than a few pages at a time.
Additionally, I don’t think I was understanding what was going on; too disjointed and magical realism heavy to comprehend what the author was trying to convey.
Found myself putting the book down often and not inclined to pick up and read more than a few pages at a time.
Additionally, I don’t think I was understanding what was going on; too disjointed and magical realism heavy to comprehend what the author was trying to convey.
scarletohhara's review against another edition
4.0
Very lyrical storytelling, beautiful considering the sad premise of the book. I LOVED the chapter that reimagines the last few days of Khomeini and gathered that is why the translator is anonymous.
Sad, triggering book. But it is a good read if you like mythical storytelling and if you want to learn how the few years post the revolution in Iran were.
Sad, triggering book. But it is a good read if you like mythical storytelling and if you want to learn how the few years post the revolution in Iran were.
abitters's review against another edition
4.0
A book I will sit with for some time. It was challenging at times to wade through some of the magical digressions and keep the stories straight. I will say if you begin reading this book and find it challenging as I did, stick with it. The end is both jarring and beautiful. Glad I read it.