This is a book that I picked up at Hastings. I was wandering and saw that the front the book had a review from an author I love to read, Claire Messud, "miraculously light in its touch...Sofer writes beautifully...a remarkable debut." Sold.
The book chronicles a family in the 1980s shortly after the Iranian revolution. It describes the chaos and the slow chipping away at the familiar. The father, Isaac, is arrested and sent to a prison to be constantly interrogated about his "crimes". The wife, Farnaz, tries to hold what remains of their daily lives together. The daughter, Shirin, finds herself unable to eat and sickly due to the stress. And, the son, Parviz, is in New York going to school, lonely and penniless.
The writing is sparse and beautiful. Sofer makes a difficult and sad subject immensely readable. I usually don't read the interviews with the authors at the end of the book, but in this case I was really glad that I did. The story is very loosely autobiographical. Sofer's father was imprisoned in much the same manner and came back a changed person. Sofer's family was smuggled out of the country to safety.
I really enjoyed this book. However, if I had solely read the back, I don't think I would have picked it up.
I agree with you on this book!
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