A review by bucket
Censoring an Iranian Love Story by Shahriar Mandanipour

5.0

While there were aspects of this book that were disappointing, I ultimately really enjoyed it. And I think that my disappointment, especially at the ending, was purposeful. After all, if the narrator had been successful in writing a strictly censored love story, it would almost be an endorsement of censorship as a practice. I loved the way the narrator faded in and out of the love story and became as much a player in it as Sara and Dara. I also enjoyed seeing his perspective on how he chose to write different pieces of the story and the historical information he imparted - like what music and poetry in Iran used to be like, and how writers use fruit and plant items to describe parts of the anatomy that they can't name. There were a few twists in the story that felt a little too easy or convenient, and I'm not sure if these can be justified by the fact that the narrator is doing whatever he can to get this story to be approved by Mr. Petrovich.

Themes: censorship, Iran, literature, love, culture, fear, morality, magical realism, writing