This book could be subtitled Imagine. Imagine you were being blackmailed, imagine you were Iranian, imagine you are gay. Imagine what that would mean for the rest of your life.
Amir fearing his blackmailer would out him to his family and fearing the backlash from his ultra conservative mother and father. Is he right to fear? He flees from his family and his blackmailer.
He ends up in Rome in what he thinks will be heaven. he is befriended by a group of gays. But far from being a paradise on earth he finds he has jumped from the frying pan into the fire. He finds that gays can be as prejudiced and jealous as any hetrosexual.
The author has written a good story of prejudice, blackmail and fear. The prose is of a top quality, the characters are all well rounded and essential to the story. The reader will find his or herself changing sides, agreeing with Amir and then siding with his parents. What the reader will find is nothing is black or white but more a murky shade of grey. Well recommended.
Amir fearing his blackmailer would out him to his family and fearing the backlash from his ultra conservative mother and father. Is he right to fear? He flees from his family and his blackmailer.
He ends up in Rome in what he thinks will be heaven. he is befriended by a group of gays. But far from being a paradise on earth he finds he has jumped from the frying pan into the fire. He finds that gays can be as prejudiced and jealous as any hetrosexual.
The author has written a good story of prejudice, blackmail and fear. The prose is of a top quality, the characters are all well rounded and essential to the story. The reader will find his or herself changing sides, agreeing with Amir and then siding with his parents. What the reader will find is nothing is black or white but more a murky shade of grey. Well recommended.