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megelizabeth's review against another edition
2.0
This book pains me a little to review, because it has so many elements that I loved, but ultimately its flaws are too significant to merit a higher rating. The writing is brilliant, the sense of place and time is incredible, and there are so many great discussions about cultural differences, the reality of immigrant life, and the roles and expectations of women in Iran and the US. It presents a much more nuanced look at 1950s life than the stereotyped version you often see, and I just adored the sprawling, layered narrative and everything it has to say about love, loss, politics, and familial and societal expectations.
However, there are two things about this book that I just cannot forgive. The first is that it celebrates a character who grooms a child, and the second is that its representation of a mentally ill character feels lazy and one-dimensional and made me very uncomfortable. I'm not saying that mentally ill people can never be bad people, but to present the only mentally ill character as such and to leave very little space for any slight expectation of why they act the way they do is just irresponsible in my opinion. This book could've been incredible if these two elements had been dealt with differently, but instead I was just left feeling thoroughly frustrated and disappointed.
However, there are two things about this book that I just cannot forgive. The first is that it celebrates a character who grooms a child, and the second is that its representation of a mentally ill character feels lazy and one-dimensional and made me very uncomfortable. I'm not saying that mentally ill people can never be bad people, but to present the only mentally ill character as such and to leave very little space for any slight expectation of why they act the way they do is just irresponsible in my opinion. This book could've been incredible if these two elements had been dealt with differently, but instead I was just left feeling thoroughly frustrated and disappointed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Blood, Police brutality, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual harassment