An endearing, if patchy, love letter to Iran.
In this novel by Rashidi (Tales of Iran, 2013), a young man, recently released from an Iranian jail, falls in love with a woman who’s strictly off-limits.
Kazem is not a bad man; he simply enjoys living on the fringes of the law. Just out of prison, he returns to the streets of Tehran to seek out his scoundrel companions. He finds them decaying in a murky world of opium and arrack (an alcoholic drink). Out of the skid row squalor, however, emerges a vision of hope: the beautiful Maryam, daughter of a wealthy hajji. For Kazem, it’s love at first sight, and he sets about wooing her immediately. Maryam remains gentle yet aloof; she’s certain that her father will never consent to her marrying a penniless man with such a dubious background. Finally, she reveals to Kazem that the hajji has promised her hand in marriage to someone else, and that she’ll soon wed. However, this only serves to strengthen Kazem’s resolve, and he kidnaps Maryam. He then seeks refuge with her in the city’s backstreets, as her furious father seeks retribution. The novel opens in the summer of 1978, and its backdrop charts Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s rise to power. Along the way, Rashidi examines the growing unrest in Tehran and the emergence of its “thug” culture. Essentially, the novel asks difficult questions about what it means to be Iranian and a Muslim when faced with a brutal regime that tortures its own people. The author is at his best when describing Tehran’s crowds, which he does in great detail: “Hairy, grim-faced pahlavans showed off their physical prowess by tearing large copper trays in two….Multicolored chadored women shrieked at their grubby, shabbily-clothed children.” However, these descriptions are often prone to repetition, which can become tiresome. Rashidi also relies too heavily on clichés; at one point, for example, Kazem’s friend Mohsen runs “like a bat out of hell.” Nevertheless, this is a touching, engaging love story punctuated by pleasure and pain, which offers a privileged glimpse into Tehran life.
An endearing, if patchy, love letter to Iran.Pub Date: July 24, 2014
ISBN: 978-0755216666
Page Count: 246
Publisher: New Generation Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.
Eleven years ago, he broke her heart. But he doesn’t know why she never forgave him.
Toggling between past and present, two love stories unfold simultaneously. In the first, Macy Sorensen meets and falls in love with the boy next door, Elliot Petropoulos, in the closet of her dad’s vacation home, where they hide out to discuss their favorite books. In the second, Macy is working as a doctor and engaged to a single father, and she hasn’t spoken to Elliot since their breakup. But a chance encounter forces her to confront the truth: what happened to make Macy stop speaking to Elliot? Ultimately, they’re separated not by time or physical remoteness but by emotional distance—Elliot and Macy always kept their relationship casual because they went to different schools. And as a teen, Macy has more to worry about than which girl Elliot is taking to the prom. After losing her mother at a young age, Macy is navigating her teenage years without a female role model, relying on the time-stamped notes her mother left in her father’s care for guidance. In the present day, Macy’s father is dead as well. She throws herself into her work and rarely comes up for air, not even to plan her upcoming wedding. Since Macy is still living with her fiance while grappling with her feelings for Elliot, the flashbacks offer steamy moments, tender revelations, and sweetly awkward confessions while Macy makes peace with her past and decides her future.
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2801-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
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