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A review by rdubbaneh
Refuge by Dina Nayeri
4.0
An opium-addicted, wealthy, Iranian dentist says goodbye to his wife and 2 kids as they leave Iran to seek asylum. He promises to follow, but his opium, money, dental practice, and 2 subsequent wives keep him tied to Iran. His daughter Niloo grows up as an American Ivy League student, marries a French man and ends up a European elitist. She only sees her father 4 times throughout her lifetime, each time shaken by a different decaying version of her addict father - a man she is so similar to but hardly knows. As the political climate in Iran begins to shatter, so too do both she and her father walk through their own shattering awakenings.
Such an eye-opening story of what it means to be a refugee, to never know where home is, to live and age apart from family. It’s ultimately a story of the powerful bonds of family and community and how they can restore and heal over decades. Didn’t think I was going to like the ending but it was so sweet and satisfying.
The author is an Iranian refugee herself and a graduate of Harvard, Princeton, and the Iowa Writer’s Workshop - the last of which immediately made me trust her as a writer. And it was a trust that did not disappoint.
Such an eye-opening story of what it means to be a refugee, to never know where home is, to live and age apart from family. It’s ultimately a story of the powerful bonds of family and community and how they can restore and heal over decades. Didn’t think I was going to like the ending but it was so sweet and satisfying.
The author is an Iranian refugee herself and a graduate of Harvard, Princeton, and the Iowa Writer’s Workshop - the last of which immediately made me trust her as a writer. And it was a trust that did not disappoint.