Rooftops of Tehran

Hello all,

It has been too long since i did a book review, and also too long since i read a book that i really enjoyed. But now i’ve finally read one and want to do this review for anyone who wants a good book recommendation!

I finished this book early last week and told myself to write a review on it ASAP, but never got around to doing it until now.

In a few words: this book is great! I was pleasantly surprised actually, I did not expect the book to be as good as it was. I thought it would be a lot more historical and boring, but it was a true coming of age and love story, set in a turbulent time.

I found this book randomly one day as I was searching for books to read online. I found this in the ‘similar/you might like’ tab, and clicked on the book and read the brief summary. I checked it out from the library and finished it in a few days. Now I’m on my sisters to read this too, as I’m sure they would enjoy it!

To give you a brief summary, without giving away too much of the plot:

The story revolves around Pasha, the main character and his best friend Ahmed, two teenage boys in the 70s living in Tehran. They spend their summer nights laying on the roof top discussing life, sports, girls and common topics of teenage boys. They have an older friend, ‘doctor’, who is a brilliant and rebellious thinker, who is engaged to the girl Pasha is secretly in love with-Zari.

After a TV broadcast of a trial sentencing many people, the government has declared threats to society and Pasha’s calm neighborhood is now filled with turmoil. The symbol of the terrorist is the red rose, and suddenly there are posters going up all around the neighborhood-placed by the Doctor-as a sign of rebellion. This action, ultimately leads to the arrest of the Doctor, and causes Zari, Pasha and the neighborhood to never be the same again.

The rest of the story, deals with Pasha’s aftermath of dealing with the sadness of losing his friend, the Doctor, and his hatred of the Irani government. He and Zari grow closer as well, but with unexpected twists and turns in the story, their love is put to the ultimate tests.

The story is very sad at points, and makes for a gripping read as you want to keep turning the pages to see what happens. It depicts life to its truest form, reminding us of our dreams, love, laughs and cries. Mahbod Seraji writes an emotional story with the perfect balance of life in Tehran, and a love story.

This is one of those books that will stay with you long after you finish the book. I know for myself, I was still thinking about the characters even a few days after finishing it, as the entire story is so gripping. It is well written, and extremely enjoyable and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good read this summer. And to anyone who wishes to expand their horizons and read a fiction novel based in the turmoil time period of Iranian history.

The book came out in 2009 and there have been reports that the author is writing a second novel, although I do not see any title or release of that one yet, but I will for sure read that as well!

P.S. If you’ve read books such as The Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns (also fabulous books) and you enjoyed them, then you will definitely love this book as well!

Hope you guys enjoyed that!