Were you familiar with Iran's political history before reading this book?

Were you familiar with Iran's political history before reading this book? What were you surprised to learn? Are there any parallels with the political history of the United States? Another country?

Somewhat familiar, but totally from the perspective of U.S. media.

I was surprised to learn of the efforts of some Iranians toward stopping nuclear proliferation. The beauty of historical fiction for me always has to do with adding the fictional personal element to actual history.

Yes, I remember that time vividly having lived through it and watching the whole thing over television. It was a scary time.

I do remember the Shah and his reign only through the focus on American television and news. When Khomeini took control there was nothing but trouble and he was hated around the world. It seemed the poor Iranian people were duped in that takeover. The book shows us how the political changes affected the people in Iran and brings a personal awareness to those of us who were only shaped by the US viewpoint.

Not really. Just general information from what I have read, and in the media. Did not learn anything about this country in school.

I wasn't familiar with Iran's history really. This book was enlightening especially through the perspective of a female during the various regimes. This book shows that individuals do try to make a difference in the political climate. It makes one realize that it is about the individuals and not the political leaders. If we knew this then probably we would not be so willing to classify people by their governments.

I thought the book was very short on Iran's modern history. There was a comment or two about the taking of American hostages by students but no explanation of why the country looks on the West with such hostility now. A mention of the1953 overthrow of a democratically elected leader Mossaddagh by the US and England was made briefly, but no mention of why. It is a quite horrible affair as this action turned the Shah into a despot. It is a matter of the control of the country's oil supply.

To me, it was an interesting love story with a good ending.

I remember the time frame but found that I was looking for more information as I read it. We get a pretty biased perspective here and it's sometimes hard to find information that doesn't try to project only one side of the news. I had a friend who left when the Shah was deposed and had to build a new life in the US.

I was vaguely familiar remembering when the Shah was ousted, that Khomeini took control and that it seemed a horrible leader was replaced by one even worse. I also remember the hostage situation but was not astute enough at the time to truly understand the hatred toward the West.

I was vaguely familiar with most of it, having graduated from high school in 1979, the year the Shah was ousted. Later reading filled in a lot of the gaps. I don't know that anything really surprised me. I did think one of Farzad's observations was on the money and applies to today's politics:

"One wonders if it is strategic genius or an unintentional consequence that those least likely to gain from a leader are often his strongest supporters."

I was aware of the United States' perspective of Iran's politics. It was interesting to look at it from an Iranian view.

I wasn’t particularly educated about Iran’s history, though I remember some of the events from this time. But I was in college so wasn’t really “in tune” to foreign events.

Yes, I was familiar Iran's history before reading this book from Iranian co-workers, reading books (fiction & nonfiction) from different povs.

I am old enough to remember when this was all happening, but not old enough to have understood it all. Now I understand a little more about what happened, but still not that politically minded to completely comprehend.

Yes in a general way from the media while this was happening—but at that time, I was not as engaged as I am now. A missing piece was the role of the US in opposing Mossadegh. Another, of course, was hearing from Iranians themselves and not just politicians. I had no idea any of them were involved in fighting for disarmament either—even now, the media is more focused on the government’s effort to develop nuclear weapons.

I first began to fill in the huge gaps in my understanding with the graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. Still a long way to go! I can understand why Nadine Bjursten saw the need for this novel, and I am glad she did. I also found a parallel in the documentary film Joonam (2023) by a young filmmaker from Vermont (where I live) whose parents and grandparents had direct experience of the Iranian Revolution; the film is a family oral history.

I have a vague memory of Nixon and the Shah of Iran, who I thought was terribly glamorous! I remember, sadly, but well, the rise of Khomeini and the brutality of the theocracy he established.

I was somewhat familiar with the events in Iran's political history, but I wasn't familiar with many of the perspectives offered in this novel. Amineh and her family were educated and financially comfortable, and they chose to stay in Iran despite their distaste for Khomeini. As others have said, I had no idea that Iranians were involved in nuclear nonproliferation efforts. I don't want to offer spoilers, so I will only say that some of the events, especially toward the end of the book, give me a chilling and vivid sense of the degree to which elements of the regime were involved in people's private lives. In the prologue, the author says that as one petal of a rose is not the rose, one aspect of a country is not the country. This book portrayed a complex and layered story of Iran that was far more nuanced than the outline I had in my head of the country's political history.

This gives my understanding of latter days when the Shah was in power a different view. I had a Persian friend who came to US in late 1970s to escape the return of the Ayatollahs Khomeini. Then on to 1998 when the Ayatollah control was roaring, and moderate Iranians were fleeing. I had no knowledge of diplomacy, and behind the scenes opposition to nuclear development.