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‘A gripping, nostalgic story of the struggle for art, love and freedom . . . captures the complexities and tensions of attempting to choose one’s own path, and the vulnerability implicit in investing in love and friendship’ Irish Times
During the chaotic months leading up to the Iranian Revolution, four young people navigate the increasingly dangerous situation they find themselves in. Damian and Anna are both research students whose lives become enmeshed with Arash, a poet, and his older brother Reza, a lecturer and amateur photographer.
Amid riots and mounting arrests, in a state where homosexuality is illegal and dissident voices savagely repressed, each one has to make ever more urgent – and irrevocable – choices.
‘A wonderfully accomplished novel that powerfully depicts a forbidden love in a fragmenting world’ David Park
‘The evocation of time and place feels vivid and authentic. Llewellyn’s account is compelling . . . [a] novel that engages in big political questions’ Irish Independent
During the chaotic months leading up to the Iranian Revolution, four young people navigate the increasingly dangerous situation they find themselves in. Damian and Anna are both research students whose lives become enmeshed with Arash, a poet, and his older brother Reza, a lecturer and amateur photographer.
Amid riots and mounting arrests, in a state where homosexuality is illegal and dissident voices savagely repressed, each one has to make ever more urgent – and irrevocable – choices.
‘A wonderfully accomplished novel that powerfully depicts a forbidden love in a fragmenting world’ David Park
‘The evocation of time and place feels vivid and authentic. Llewellyn’s account is compelling . . . [a] novel that engages in big political questions’ Irish Independent
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Reviews
A haunting, atmospheric novel about four students who find themselves unexpected witnesses to history in the strange last days of the Shah's Iran.
A wonderfully accomplished novel that powerfully depicts a forbidden love in a fragmenting world trapped between dictatorship and fundamentalism, and where poetry is seen as more dangerous than guns.
An exploration of memory and loss.
An honest and painstaking writer who cares deeply about the truth of her subject-matter.
I loved this immensely evocative novel which takes the reader on a gripping journey through Iran - as well as a deeply moving and absorbing emotional journey, which acutely shows how the political and personal are inextricably interwoven. Highly recommended.
Llewellyn vividly captures the lives and passions of four young people irrevocably transformed by revolution, and of a moment in recent history that tilted us towards the political frailties of the present day. Skilfully woven through the story is a tender testament to the Iranian writers and thinkers who bore witness and sought justice.
Subtle, serious fiction
Takes on huge, political and personal themes and carries them off superbly.
A gripping, nostalgic story of the struggle for art, love and freedom . . . captures the complexities and tensions of attempting to choose one's own path, and the vulnerability implicit in investing in love and friendship