Golbon Moltaji Moltaji itibaren Jamuniya Bhura, Madhya Pradesh 480221, Hindistan
Loved it, but I was also a teenager, back when this type of smut was hard to come by! I read more of this series-- and the rest of VC's fine work -- than I'd like to admit!
Set in Tehran just after the contested Iranian elections of June 2009, the story centers on Raha, a female college student and anti-government activist from a secular, well-to-do family in north Tehran. Several other first-person voices also narrate the dramatic events, including a devout Muslim member of the Revolutionary Guard named Hossein, Raha’s fiancé Kian and both their mothers, and Gita, an Iranian ex-pat visiting from the United States. Raha and Kian and their friends become caught up in the massive demonstrations against the declared Ahmadinejad electoral victory. They become involved with Hossein by chance; normally, the reader is told, the college students and the lower-class Sepah would not meet socially. No spoilers here, but Raha’s activism leads to some very difficult and painful experiences for her and her family. The multiple first-person narrators, especially the inclusion of Hossein, create a compelling tapestry of voices and opinions that give the novel a many-layered and complex texture. This is a big story on a large canvas; there is nothing simple or easy about the events or the human responses. The different ages and backgrounds of these narrators allow issues of class, of religion, of culture and gender, to be explored organically, with very few didactic moments. Early in the novel, short chapters move the story quickly; when the pace slows down in the second half of the book, I was already deeply involved with these characters and wanted the more reflective periods. I wished that the narrative voices varied more in syntax and diction, but it did not significantly interfere with my involvement in the characters or their story. Before reading this novel, I knew little about Iran beyond the headlines. Pakravan does a superb job of feathering information about Iranian history, culture, language and conflicts into the story, only very rarely succumbing to the authorial impulse to tell the reader too much. Instead, the competing passions of the characters invite the reader to participate in the complex and dangerous situation of a nation and a way of life in tumult. Highly recommended.