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Verk av Afsaneh Moqadam

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This is a brilliant and chilling book that made the shortlist for the 2011 Orwell Prize for political writing.

In it, the pseudonymous author tells the tale of Mohsen Abbaspour, a young Iranian who is caught up in the 2009 election, starting with merely campaigning for Musavi, the reformist candidate, in order to impress a girl he likes. Soon, he's being more daring and committed than most of his friends, furious at the betrayal of his friends and family and his country by corrupt and violent leaders.

What is most impressive about this slim volume is the way the author portrays the story through Iranian eyes, and how revelatory this can be. For instance, it's not until the election results come in, showing an unbelievable swell of support for Ahmadinejad, that the real fury erupts. Iranians, the author writes, could have tolerated electing a candidate who proves disappointing or ineffective in office, but not having the election stolen from them. There are acute observations about the way the Iranians view the outside world as it views them -- they, the current embodiment of an ancient civilization, must surely be the focus of the world's attention and concern, constantly? So they analyze even offhand remarks for hidden meanings, and conspiracy theories flourish.

The book does an excellent job of taking the reader inside the state of mind of those Iranians we watched take to the streets on our television sets and it's a reminder of the heavy price many of them paid for their activism as well as the harsh realities that no one is a hero under torture. It's polemical, and there are a handful of descriptions of that torture (although done very carefully, so it's the atmosphere rather than the graphic details that are most chilling), but it's an excellent book. Highly recommended; 4.5 stars. A wake-up call to those of us tempted to become complacent and suggest that others just insist on their democratic rights -- and a reminder, in the wake of the recent events in the Middle East, that this isn't always as simple as we would like it to be or as we may perceive it to be from the outside.
… (mer)
½
7 rösta
Flaggad
Chatterbox | May 5, 2011 |

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Verk
1
Medlemmar
56
Popularitet
#291,557
Betyg
4.1
Recensioner
1
ISBN
6

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