In a fluid language that blends simplicity with tenderness, the novel Rooftops of Tehran by Mahbod Seraji captures an anxious era filled with political and social tension in 1970s Iran—specifically the few years leading up to the revolution against the Shah's regime and the subsequent declaration of what would later be called the "Islamic Republic."
اضافة اعلان
Critics have described the novel, published by Dar Al-Karma in Cairo and translated into Arabic by Enas El-Turki, as "one of those rare novels that stay in your memory long after turning the final page; it reminds us of the good and evil in life, that joy has a painful side, and that love comes in many forms."
International press reviews of the work have deemed it an uplifting, thought-provoking text about courage, sacrifice, friendship, and love. It also depicts the drama of the loss of innocence and unveils a hidden side of a country that has become ambiguous and understood by only a few.
In this moving novel, the author reveals beauty as well as violence, while underscoring the human emotions that we all share.
The events unfold in a middle-class neighborhood in Tehran, where seventeen-year-old Pasha Shahed spends the summer of 1973 on his rooftop with his best friend, Ahmed. At times they joke around, and at others, they ponder pressing questions about life. Pasha harbors a secret love for his beautiful neighbor, Zari, who has been betrothed since birth to another man. The bliss of the stolen time Pasha and Zari spend together is soon shattered when Pasha inadvertently assists the Shah’s secret police, placing his relationship with his beloved at a critical crossroads.
The Iranian author Mahbod Seraji was born in 1956 and moved to the United States in 1976 at the age of nineteen. He completed his studies at the University of Iowa, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, a Master’s in Broadcasting and Film, and a PhD in Instructional Design and Technology. Seraji currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he works as a management consultant.
An Excerpt from the Novel:
"I heard the voice of someone chanting, and the repetitive verses flowed like water at the edge of my consciousness:
If I had a book, I would read it.
If I had a song, I would sing it.
I looked around until I saw an old man standing a few meters away, chanting in a steady, hollow tone. The place did not seem familiar to me; the blue robe covering my body, the wheelchair I was sitting in, and the sunlight filtering through the shadows to warm me—all of this felt alien:
If I knew a dance, I would dance it.
If I knew a rhyme, I would repeat it.
If I had a life, I would risk it.
If I had freedom, I would venture.
Out in the courtyard, men of all shapes and ages wandered about in blue robes. There was something peculiar about each of them; they looked lost. Suddenly, a wave of emotion filled my chest and rushed to my throat. A young nurse with a kind, plump, apple-like face hurried toward me, placed her hands on my shoulders, and shouted:
'Help me here, help me!'
A man in a white uniform rushed over and tried to steady me. The one with the apple-like face cried out:
'Stay in your seat, dear, stay in your seat!'
Which likely meant I was moving. I focused on sitting still and looked toward the old man on the far side of the room. He stared back at me, frantically repeating his chant:
If I had a horse, I would ride it.
If I had a horse, I would ride it.
If I had a horse...
They escorted me to a room with a bed, and the woman with the apple-like face said to me:
'I'll give you a sedative to make you feel better, dear.'
I felt a prick in my arm, and suddenly my head and arms became unbearably heavy, and my eyes closed."
