Reviewer: Amy Lignor
Title: Rooftops of Tehran
Author: Mahbod Seraji
Publisher: Penguin Group/NAL – New American Library
ISBN-13: 978-0-45122681-5
Release Date: May 2009
Genre/Sub-genre: General Fiction
Year/Setting: 1973/1974 - Tehran
Overall Rating: 4.0
Sexual Content Rating: Subtle/Sensual
Language (Profanity/Slang) Content Rating: Moderate/Extreme
Violent Content Rating: Moderate/Intense
Mahbod's Website: www.rooftopsoftehran.com
Dear Readers:
With this offering, we are essentially taken to a country where one group of young people are defying the greatest odds to be heard above the tyranny and oppression of their country’s leaders. Living in a middle-class neighborhood, Pasha Shahed is seventeen years old and he lives his life (or, at least, the summer of 1973) on the rooftop with his best friend, Ahmed. They begin early in the story just hanging out, peering at the beautiful girl in her garden that Pasha is in love with, and talking about the wonderful future they’re all going to have. Unfortunately, Zari, who is the neighbor he has a secret crush on, has already be given into marriage to the Doctor – and Pasha loves this man like a brother. He couldn’t possibly intercede or tell his secret because that would be wrong. So he settles for a friendship with Zari, and they bond over life, pain, and the pursuit of happiness.
One night, by mistake, Pasha is used by the horrible secret police as an arrow pointing straight towards his dear friend. In one fell swoop, the police move in and the Doctor is no more. Violence erupts in their quiet little world on top of that roof, and Zari makes an unbelievably horrible choice that Pasha must live with for the rest of his life.
There are parts of this story that are extremely emotional. There are parts that are funny and poignant, where Pasha and his buddies are simply like all teenagers, waiting for their lives to really begin; and, unfortunately, there are parts that just made my stomach turn - not because of bad writing, mind you, but simply because of the disgusting world we all still live in. Violence is not a memory. It never will be. The dangers of a conflict with a country’s government still looms large, and poor, innocent people are the ones who still pay for all the mistakes that these so-called, leaders, make on a daily basis.
For anyone who is interested in exploring the horrors that can’t be solved - then this is the book for you. This is a debut novel and I’m not quite sure if, after this, the author will have much more to say – but they will certainly have subject matter that will never go away. Violence isn’t entertaining – it’s simply a big, fat waste of time. The sooner we all learn this – the better off we’ll all be.
Until Next Time, Amy
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