Set against the background of the protests of the 2019 Green Movement in Iran, A Door Between Us by Ehsaneh Sadr is a page turning story of survival in what looks like neverending times of religious dictatorship.
For the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that overturned the dictatorship of the Shah with a theocracy, millions of people, mostly youngsters, were on the streets of Tehran and main cities to protest against what they considered the stealing of their vote. In the presidential elections, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner against Mir Hossein Mousavi despite verified claims of electoral fraud. Although Ahmadinejad was confirmed for a second mandate and Mousavi and his wife are since then under house arrest, and thousands of people were arrested and tortured, the scream "Where is my vote?" was a serious warning that young middle class people were having enough of the a situation that since then become worse.
Those challenges for the Islamic Republic are reflected in A Door Between Us through the interactions and serious challenges the main characters are going through. It starts with - for me, the unlikely - marriage between Ali and Sarah. I said unlikely because I have some doubts that people with such a different social and intellectual background in Tehran may ever accept to an arranged marriage. Another detail from the book that I´ve found a bit forced is the fact that the Basiji abusive interrogator Heydari beats Azar, a human rights lawyer with a copy of Karl Popper´s The Open Society and Its Enemies (a title very popular in Iran and adapted to the Iranian realities by religious intellectuals). But those are really details, because what really kept me highly interested is the ways in which the chain of events involving the characters was skilfully built as well as the dramatic changes the characters are going through.
Take, for instance, Sadegh, the member of the paramilitary Basij forces - which were attributed many abuses against the protesters. Based on his religious credo, he believes that the protesters are a threat to the Islamic Republic. He thinks: ´Yes, perhaps our government makes mistakes but what these people are advocating - overthrow of the government - will only lead to chaos and subjugation to the West´. But once he is able to see with his own eyes the extent of the abuses, until the end of the novel he changes his mind and can even critically assess the blind attitude of his wife, Sumayeh. What happen to most of the people in the book is to discover their genuine humanity and solidarity, no matter their degree of observance and social background.
And there are so many other questions raised that do affect people living under opressive regimes all over the world, like for instance, how far can you get with your fight for the truth? Is it worth to put your family and children under risk for freedom? Indeed, your fight will, if successful, also guarantee a different future to your children, but what if the fight will fail. One goes to Evin prison - a detention site for political prisoners in Tehran -, separated from his or her children, endures torture and interrogations and how can you change the system from there? A former political dissident told me long ago that when the gates are closing in the front of you and your freedom is stolen from you, different ethical standards apply.
A Door Between Us is emotionally and intellectually heavy. I particularly appreciated that the book does not have a thesis or is trying to convene a political message. Instead, it explores how historical events influence the life of simple people, which makes it a valuable contribution to the Iranian disapora literature.
Rating: 4 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
No comments:
Post a Comment