Maria Kirmani, Grade 12
MUWCI
I've come across many impactful books but “Rooftops of Tehran” by Mahbod Seraji in particular has deeply influenced me. The story, set in Iran of 1970’s, follows the life of the young protagonist named Pasha and his teen-aged friends as they navigate through life armed with humor, love and friendship during a turbulent time of their country’s history: the revolt surrounding the ousting of Shah.
We see the characters having lost the right to dissent, living in the oppressive and tyrannical Shah regime facing severe consequences for dissension while dealing with the repressive secret police called SAVAK. Their summer turns bloody as they face countless injustices and undergo horrifying experiences in witnessing deaths and losing people close to them, including a friend executed by the SAVAK. It is a coming of age tale of teenagers who go through things no person should ever go through. It gives a realistic and nuanced look into life under conflict.
While reading it I gravely resonated with the book, which thus had an impact on me. I read the book when in August 2019 my home, the valley of Kashmir, was put under siege following the revocation of the special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir.
During the siege times with no access to the internet, telephony, newspapers and almost total embargo on free movement my abode had virtually turned into an open jail when the books were one’s only recourse to be alive. My summer, just like the summer of the characters in “Rooftops of Tehran”, had taken a drastic turn. I, just like the characters in the book, was angry but helpless. I related to their desperation for emancipation from something that they hadn’t signed up for.
In the book we see the desperation and the anger make Pasha aware of the violent repression of the government and gradually gain political consciousness and grow to be more sure in his own values and beliefs as a person; and which is what I felt happen to me the last summer as the suffering made me realize that being aware of your identity and knowing what you stand for is indeed one of the most powerful forms of resistance.
The book along with being an expression of defiance and courage also signifies hope as we distinguish that even during tragic and difficult circumstances virtues like love, friendship, laughter remain person’s universal experiences in all times and places signifying that even with all differences we humans are not that different.
Regardless of what life throws at them, the book tells us that warm, funny and virtuous people manage to open up a side of their culture that is usually hidden from the world, which is something that I’ve witnessed to be true growing up in Kashmir. This book inspires me to know more about Persian culture and to read more about Iran - a country I would love to visit some day.
Overall, this book hits close to home for me.
We see the characters having lost the right to dissent, living in the oppressive and tyrannical Shah regime facing severe consequences for dissension while dealing with the repressive secret police called SAVAK. Their summer turns bloody as they face countless injustices and undergo horrifying experiences in witnessing deaths and losing people close to them, including a friend executed by the SAVAK. It is a coming of age tale of teenagers who go through things no person should ever go through. It gives a realistic and nuanced look into life under conflict.
While reading it I gravely resonated with the book, which thus had an impact on me. I read the book when in August 2019 my home, the valley of Kashmir, was put under siege following the revocation of the special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir.
During the siege times with no access to the internet, telephony, newspapers and almost total embargo on free movement my abode had virtually turned into an open jail when the books were one’s only recourse to be alive. My summer, just like the summer of the characters in “Rooftops of Tehran”, had taken a drastic turn. I, just like the characters in the book, was angry but helpless. I related to their desperation for emancipation from something that they hadn’t signed up for.
In the book we see the desperation and the anger make Pasha aware of the violent repression of the government and gradually gain political consciousness and grow to be more sure in his own values and beliefs as a person; and which is what I felt happen to me the last summer as the suffering made me realize that being aware of your identity and knowing what you stand for is indeed one of the most powerful forms of resistance.
The book along with being an expression of defiance and courage also signifies hope as we distinguish that even during tragic and difficult circumstances virtues like love, friendship, laughter remain person’s universal experiences in all times and places signifying that even with all differences we humans are not that different.
Regardless of what life throws at them, the book tells us that warm, funny and virtuous people manage to open up a side of their culture that is usually hidden from the world, which is something that I’ve witnessed to be true growing up in Kashmir. This book inspires me to know more about Persian culture and to read more about Iran - a country I would love to visit some day.
Overall, this book hits close to home for me.
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