Kimiâ, the heroine, like the author, comes from an oral culture, and this shows very much in the writing and the structure of this book.

There is in fact very little structure. The narrative keeps jumping back and forth between timeframes and this can be a little confusing at time, particularly due to the fairly big cast of characters (some of them only appearing sporadically) and the seemingly repetitive nature of Iranian history. There are a few plot twists or surprises but they are generally fairly heavily sign-posted long in advance.

It is perhaps the prominent presence of historical events as well as the chatty and informal style that makes the book feel so much like a memoir, rather than the novel we are told it is. The overall story line certainly seems to follow that of Djavadi's own life story. Reading this, I felt I learned a lot about Iran and the involvement of Western powers in the ruination of the country. Somehow however I didn't really engage with the characters emotionally, perhaps because of that memoir-like detachment.

On the whole I'm pleased I read this book mostly for the historical background it provides on the ongoing Middle-East crisis, but I do wish it was shorter.

(I read it in the original French)