Prisoner of Tehran

Canada Reads Book #1: Prisoner of Tehran by Marina Nemat

Sometimes, when you read a book, you reflect on your own life and realize how trivial it all might be.  The little obstacles I overcome on a daily basis, the small victories or sadnesses that daily life brings, they seem huge to me because they are my experiences, but after reading this book, all I can think about is perspective: getting some and keeping some.  When I was through with this book I realized that the spectrum of my own emotions was limited.  Nemat's greatest sufferings are so much worse than mine have ever been but, I would guess, her greatest joys are so much greater because of the perspective her pain has given her.  Not that I'm looking for pain -- just that I have to remember, all the time, the bigger picture of life, suffering and joy. 

The foundation of the books is Marina's experience in Iran's notorious political prison, Evin.  Moving between her prison experience and the story that brought her there, Nemat paints a picture of a life loved, disrupted and regained.  Her's is a tale of orientation, disorientation and reorientation--stages we all find ourselves in as we cycle through life.  But Marina's story is so  profound because she manages to maintain and promote the dignity of all people despite having every reason not too.  In a world trying to delineate between good and evil, she inhabits murky space between the two and seeks to find goodness.  It is all any of us can do -- seek to find goodness in a world that doesn't make sense.

Her suffering, her stubbornness, and her sacrifice are all beautifully written and captured, yet clearly only being shared so that others will not have to suffer the same fate.  It is a painful story to share but her humility comes through.  I appreciate this sincerity as other memoirs I've read have seemed self-congratulatory.

But, truly, I only gained perspective on the very last page of the book.  I was eagerly devouring every morsel of this woman that I could--I was even reading the "Acknowledgements" to see who she thanked (this section is my little guilty pleasure because I love seeing how people use it).   And, if I read it correctly, Nemat works at a Swiss Chalet. Swiss Chalet. The woman who has undergone profound suffering, forced marriage and international immigration is the same woman who might have served me dipping sauce.  Not a professor, not a journalist, not a politician, doctor or professional (how could she be?  She was imprisoned from 16 - 18.)  Reading her story, I realize that I am barely worthy of listening to her give a lecture on how to love and be human despite the most inhuman circumstances.  And, yet, when I sit at any given Swiss Chalet, I am rarely considering the server's experience and, certainly, no one expects me to.  That's what I mean about perspective -- getting some and keeping it.  Because there is no reason for me not to wonder about the life experiences of any person I meet, but society creates space between us that is often hard to cross.   To be honest, I am not entirely sure it matters if I read the Swiss Chalet line correctly or not -- it was a lesson I needed to learn. 

This book made me realize many things -- the most important of which is my own ability to silence the experience of others by allowing this culture to create voids of listening between groups of people.  Who else's story needs to be told?  Nemat's story is a gift and I am sure there are many others out there.  

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would happily recommend it.  I have read other perspectives on the experience of women during the reign of Ayatollah Khomeini but I found this one to have a freshness and an intimacy that made it a worthy read.  

I'll save my Canada Reads vote until all the books are read, but we are off to a good start!