Why the Americans?

Asking why Americans are killed in Iran, when innocent Iranians themselves are killed by the religious regime is a rhetorical question. Killing is motivated by hate, which becomes lethal when the motivation behind the act is based on religious self-righteousness.

Undertitled ´A novel about hate in 6 episodes´, Amerikaner töten in Tehran (Killing Americans in Tehran) by Amir Hassan Cheheltan (which I´ve read in the German translatiom from Persian by Susanne Baghestani and Kurt Scharf) is a story about serial killings of American citizens in Iran. Some are very important with high diplomatic and military rankings, some are simple people caught in the web of the political events that earthquaked Iran in the last century. 

There are around 60 years of history unfolding, through which individuals are trying to make their way, but some simply will not succeed. Because hate and misunderstanding is bigger than everything else (like love or mutual understanding, and tolerance).

The question: Why Americans and not...Russians or Armenians or...French...may have different answers. There is a forthcoming book that I have on my TBR for the next weeks - forthcoming in January 2021 - that may bring more light into my interpretation on the events: America and Iran: A History: 1720 to the Present, by John Ghazvinian. But even without reading this historical account, one may easily notice that Iran and America seems to love to hate each other. A fascination for young people looking to find their freedom out of the borders of the Islamic Republic and a hateful political partner, depending on the colour and mood of the successing American administrations (at least, Americans are offered the chance to change their ogre leadership while in Iran people are put to prison when they protest fake elections). 

But enough about politics, let´s talk about the book. Amerikaner töten in Tehran has actually a lot of politics and political history and sometimes it is hard to follow the literary construction which got lost into the folds of the facts. The book was written in Persian for a potential knowledgeable audience about, for instance, the Mossadegh story. I am personally fascinated about writing about historical events in a literary context but it´s always very hard to keep the right balance. In the case of this book, I´ve felt a couple of times completely absorbed in the facts as the literary events seem to be put on hold. 

Amir Hassanb Cheheltan lives in Tehran and is the recipient of several writing scholarships and residencies. He haven´t published in Iran for over a decade for reasons that has to do with the censorship and pressure on free minds that are so dangerous for this regime. 

Next on my reading list is another book of his, translated into German from Persian, an account of stories of everyday life during the 1979 Revolution, Der Standhafte Papagei. Looking forward to it.

Rating: 3 stars