- A writer enjoying a tea in a cafe is approached by a Middle Eastern stranger who asks in Farsi to listen to his story. And so begins a fascinating tale of Amin’s large family and his life and one event in particular.
- The oldest boy in his family was Hamid who was a brilliant maths fanatic and an atheist. He has been asked to come to Harvard for an interview, so boards a commercial flight from Tehran to Dubai in July 1988 to obtain a US visa. The plane, Iran Air Flight 655, is misidentified by the Americans and shot down over the Strait of Hormuz, killing all 290 passengers and crew on board.
- From there we're immersed in Amin's story. He's a teenager in a small town when we meet him and is keen to meet up with his attractive female neighbour Parvaneh. They go to high school together. An affection grows and she invites him to come to their house. (DANGER! Asgari's novel explores the traditional Islamic restrictions on male/female behaviour and relationships). The classmates watch classic American movies. Amin asks her about her writing and reading. She’s read The Great Gatsby five times and loves Of Mice and Men. And movies. She also loves Marilyn Monroe and Madonna and Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan and Billy Joel and John Lennon. She's secular and modern. (MORE DANGER!)
- The Iran/Iraq war has finally ended and Parvaneh’s family return from the countryside to Tehran. She called occasionally but he was distant. He became more religious and angry and never shaved. He verbally abused young men in the park for smoking and their hairstyles. He quit his university course in his second year and enrolled in military service.
- His family went to Tehran for a wedding. On the first day he bumped into Parvaneh with her new boyfriend. He turned and walked away. Later he regretted that. But ‘he had seen her happy with another man and that was something he could never forgive her for’. The wedding party with its drinking and without sex segregation, and its unbearable dancing, also offended him. Walking, he accosted a young couple holding hands (‘Are you guys related’), but was beaten by them, and told ‘You fucking village people come here and dare to tell us how to live our lives, huh?’
- He enjoyed his harsh 3 months military training. At the beginning of his service he met Ghazi, who was three years older and had a Bachelor in History from the University of Tehran. He had interesting insights into classic books like Crime and Punishment and Don Quixote, and the importance of bookshops. They became good friends. They often met at a restaurant because Amin was fond of the waitress there. He was enthralled by the way she carried herself ‘with such effortless grace’. Her name was Ayesha and he knew he was going to marry her. He’s Shia but would be willing to convert to the more secular Sunni if necessary. But there's a mystery about her, a secret.
- It was not from Ayesha but Ghazi that he finally learnt the truth. Ghazi, Haroun the restaurant owner, and Ayesha were planning to join al-Qaeda. The Palestinian religious scholar Abdullah Azzam was their inspiration, and Osama bin Laden had formed al-Qaeda. The mute prodigy Salman was his right hand man. They traveled to Pakistan to meet them.
- Back in Tehran Amin tells Ayesha he wants to start his own business and do nothing else. She says ‘You’re not the man I thought you were’. And she's pregnant but that is illegal in Iran as their marriage is still not registered. He deserts her and flies to Kuala Lumpur then, after five years, to Australia.
- At the end of the novel the writer questions Amin's story. Was he lying about his involvement and his support for al-Qaeda? Imagine if his brother had actually arrived in the US and lived peacefully with his family, but became victims of 9/11? Would that change his perspective. 'No!' shouts Amin.
- The novel ends with Amin's memories of Salman's final two years of life after Osama's death. The 'silent evil genius' survived three attempts on his life before they finally got him. 'This very hand has shaken the hand of Salman the Mute. If I told that to the people in this garden, so carefree, so ignorant, so absorbed in their little lives, they would shit themselves'.
- 'He looks at me in silence'.
- Hossein Asgari has written a powerful and informative novel about race, culture, religion, tradition, and passion. It's questioning and absorbing.
No comments:
Post a Comment