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A review by essjay1
The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar
3.0
A difficult book to read, yet one that lingers in the mind. It feels like an autobiographical story embedded in the style of magical realism. The tragedy of Iran is on every page, heartbreaking and infuriating in equal parts. I don’t know enough about Persian storytelling but it seems to me this book is rooted in those traditions while also using satire and myth to tell this miserable tale.
One of my favourite lines was towards the end, when Rosa is trying to label everything so that she doesn’t forget her words & not knowing where else to put some words (after having already labelled the vase, table, refrigerator etc): “Over her heart, she had sewn: love, heartsickness, lovemaking, sorrow, God and hope”.
One of my favourite lines was towards the end, when Rosa is trying to label everything so that she doesn’t forget her words & not knowing where else to put some words (after having already labelled the vase, table, refrigerator etc): “Over her heart, she had sewn: love, heartsickness, lovemaking, sorrow, God and hope”.