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A review by nickartrip102
The Ayatollah's Gaze:: A Memoir of the Forbidden and the Fabulous by Majid Parsa, Maajid
4.0
I requested and received an eARC of The Ayatollah's Gaze: A Memoir of the Forbidden and Fabulous by Majid Parsa via NetGalley. When browsing titles, this one instantly grabbed my attention because of the bold colors. Much like a gaze, it held me captive. In his memoir, Parsa recounts a childhood of war, prayer, and devotion that is upended by his own sexual awakening and eventual pride. In his book, Parsa explores the persecution experienced by the gay men of Iran, but also dives into the fierce and flamboyant gay scene at the heart of Iran, under the shadow of the grand Ayatollah and the morality police.
This was a terribly interesting read. I really enjoyed the way Parsa weaves his way through time in a nonlinear fashion. It feels more true to the act of remembrance, the way our thoughts form and the ways we make associations between events in our lives and history. Parsa is masterful at painting very vivid scenes, really enveloping the reader in the community and culture he writes about. I think what I really appreciated most about Parsa’s memoir is that this work very easily could have been a much darker thing, and while there are plenty of moments of devastation the author takes great care to balance this with joy, giving a fullness to his recollections.
There are so many captivating figures presented in this memoir. Farid, Leila, Roya all cast their own spells over me. This memoir is about much more than being gay, it’s a delightful, and often quite emotional, coming-of-age story that interrogates religion, culture, and tradition. Parsa is very upfront about the struggles that queer people face in Iran and this is a stark reminder of the international fight for queer rights and safety. He makes a concerted effort to highlight the active queer community in Iran who resist by forging their own happiness. Parsa’s story is also about finding community and contains many important lessons if one is only willing to learn.
This was a terribly interesting read. I really enjoyed the way Parsa weaves his way through time in a nonlinear fashion. It feels more true to the act of remembrance, the way our thoughts form and the ways we make associations between events in our lives and history. Parsa is masterful at painting very vivid scenes, really enveloping the reader in the community and culture he writes about. I think what I really appreciated most about Parsa’s memoir is that this work very easily could have been a much darker thing, and while there are plenty of moments of devastation the author takes great care to balance this with joy, giving a fullness to his recollections.
There are so many captivating figures presented in this memoir. Farid, Leila, Roya all cast their own spells over me. This memoir is about much more than being gay, it’s a delightful, and often quite emotional, coming-of-age story that interrogates religion, culture, and tradition. Parsa is very upfront about the struggles that queer people face in Iran and this is a stark reminder of the international fight for queer rights and safety. He makes a concerted effort to highlight the active queer community in Iran who resist by forging their own happiness. Parsa’s story is also about finding community and contains many important lessons if one is only willing to learn.