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Book Reviewed by:Against the backdrop of a rapidly changing Iran, Parisa Reza has written a powerful love story filled with scenes of hope and heartbreak.
In the early 1920s, in the remote village of Ghamsar, Talla and Sardar, two teenagers dreaming of a better life, fall in love and marry. Sardar brings his young bride with him across the mountains to the suburbs of Tehran, where the couple settles down and builds a home. From the outskirts of the capital city, they will watch as the Qajar dynasty falls and Reza Khan rises to power as Reza Shah Pahlavi.
Into this family of illiterate shepherds is born Bahram, a boy whose brilliance and intellectual promise are apparent from a very young age. Through his education, Bahram will become a fervent follower of reformer Mohammad Mosaddegh and will participate first-hand in his country's political and social upheavals.
Fiction has the power to transport readers to an unfamiliar world and teach them about unfamiliar cultures. The Gardens of Consolation meets and exceeds this goal. It will doubtless delight anyone wishing to learn more about Iran and its recent history, and Reza's beautiful writing is sure to please. The novel is especially recommended for book groups, as its various themes (women's rights, generational change, etc.) will provide ample material for discussion...continued
Full Review
(735 words)
(Reviewed by Kim Kovacs).
In Gardens of Consolation, one of the main characters becomes a supporter of Mohammad Mossadegh, the democratically elected prime minister of Iran, who served from 1951 – 1953 until he was ousted in a coup d'état backed by the American CIA and the British SIS.
Mossadegh was born in Tehran in 1882 into a well-connected family. His father Mirza Hedayat Ashtiani, was Iran's Minister of Finance and his mother, Najm al-Saltaneh, was related to the ruling Qajar dynasty. Interestingly, "Mossadegh" was not a family name, but a title awarded by the ruling Shah in appreciation of the family's service. Later, when Iran introduced identity cards and all citizens had to be registered with a given and a family name, Mohammad supposedly ...
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