Customer Reviews

Interruptions

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Many Westerners-- I for one-- are fascinated with the Middle East and the literature from that part of the world, whether it is ancient writers such as Rumi or Omar Khayyam (a college English instructor of mine loved him) or modern writing such as THE SIRENS OF BAGHDAD, THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST, BITTERSWEET, READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN or THE KITE RUNNER-- all of which I have read recently. Now Massud Alemi, born in Iran but living in the United States since 1977, has written his first novel INTERRUPTIONS with an added twist. The central character Farzin Rouhani is a young high-school teacher living in Tehran who happens to be a homosexual. On a spring day in 1981 he flees from his home to escape his dueling parents and sets out to visit his lover Bijan, "half way across town." He has the misfortune to get caught up in the middle of a protest against the government and is arrested and taken into custody. Farzin is in a Catch 22 situation. He certainly is innocent of any plans to overthrow the government. On the other hand, if he admits that he was on the way to visit a male lover, he faces a much direr punishment. ( For instance, the Tehran daily newspaper the "Kayhan" in its November 13, 2005 edition reported the execution by hanging of two men in their twenties for the crime of homosexuality.)

In almost a 21st century version of A THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS Farzin writes down both the history of Iran and his family which is interlaced with the events of his current situation. Mr. Alemi, in addition to Farzin, creates other three-dimensional characters-- Sophie, The Malboro Man, Colonel Nemat, Lily, Hamid et al. He contrasts the beauty of the Iranian landscape with the violence of the revolution. Mr. Alemi is no slouch when it comes to English either although the book blurb states that Persian is his native language. Servants are the "spendthrifts of secrets," The young Sophie's eyes are "inky orbs." The characters Lily, Sophie and Dr. Tofiq eat dinner in a "soft lemon light." Sophie's young brothers speak with "bucolic courtliness."

This writer is at his best when he is telling wonderful stories, some of which are reminiscent of the great writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez-- no small accomplishment-- rather than when he waxes philosophical and gives a long discussion on the word "interruption" near the end of this otherwise very good and impressive first novel.

Let us hope Mr. Alemi writes another novel soon.

Ostensibly this is the story of Farzin Rouhani and his entanglement with Revolutionary Iran, but in truth it is a much broader tale of three things; Farzin, his illustrious family and the Iranian nation. Farzin's story is set in 1981, between the spring and fall, when the forces of `counterrevolution' in Iran were rounded up and tortured, raped and shot by the `Revolutionary' forces and their various state-run organs for the suppression of all manner of freedoms.

Farzin is a victim of circumstance. On his way to visit his lover he finds himself in the middle of a communist-feminist demonstration and he is arrested as a ringleader of the demonstration. Throughout his time in prison he is asked to recant, repent and admit his part in the conspiracy against the government and his `treasonous' behavior. He releases himself from his circumstances by writing a lavish story about his ancestors. These ancestors include a mystical sage named Mullah Abbas and his descendent Nozar Rouhani who marries an independent woman named Sophie Nemat, whose former husband is a well known soldier of the Shah.

Throughout these tales of family background the reader is drawn into the complex history of 19th and 20th century Persia. Russians and English are out to colonize the country. The last of the Qajars and the first of the Phalavi dynasty are introduced. The rise of Communism and nationalism in the 1950s under the Tudeh party and Mossadegh respectively. This is all a prelude to the dramatic destruction of cultured and diverse Persia which took place after the revolution of 1980 and the imposition of Islamism and the Ayatollahs. It is hard not to wince when one recalls that it was leftists in the west who were the greatest denouncers of the Shah and his Savak, and those same leftists led by Michel Foucault celebrated the rise of Islamism and the `revolution'. They celebrated even as women's rights activists were tortured and executed and homosexuals, Jews and Bahais were arrested. One is sickened by the degree to which people who call themselves `progressives' in the West were intimately involved in the suppression and destruction of society recalled in this well written fascinating book.

This is more than simply a story, it is a recollection of the destruction of a nation and its people. It is the true testament of an author to be able to weave not only a compelling narrative but also expose society and its tragedies. This is such a read and none will be disappointed. It is a fascinating and gripping tale that moves quickly along and has surprises at every turn.

Seth J. Frantzman

I just finished reading one of the best novels I have read in my life. Interruptions is Massud Alemi's first novel and what a fresh breeze of a literary event. At first I was afraid it was going to be one of those formulaic pieces at the altar of best-sellerdom like we have come to read and are about to watch on the silver screen too. What I liked about this story is its depiction of the natural evolution of the characters involved and the reality of their experience. Norman Mailer said of existential experience being necessary for writers of fiction, and I am shocked just trying to imagine what kind of experience Mr. Alemi could have had in his life to prepare him for such an epic.

The background history of the novel is full of real incidents, for example the period of 1941-1953 is well depicted as far as I can tell, and what if it is not. Who cares for the accuracy of the historical moments, when in the hands of a great first-time novelist you can see the entire era and feel it as if you are there. And that's a real gift isn't it? The love story that takes place in the middle of that era is grand as grand can be and invokes such empathy that I can't remember I had in me.

I read fiction quite often and can say with absolute certainty that I read "Interruptions" with pleasure and picked up a few pieces of wisdom as well. Thank you Mr. Alemi for the joy and good luck in your future endeavors.

In my opinion Interruptions is a beautifully crafted plot. It is about a gay man, Farzin Rouhani, who lives in Tehran, after the Islamic republic revolution and finds himself accused of a crime he did not commit. The plot moves fluidly and massud alemi has clearly perfected the art of plot twists, they keep the reader engaged and have the ability to convince, that the story must be true. His is a page-turning, rebellious story. You start to feel smug because you think you've figured out how everything's going to end. But just when you think you're heading toward a familiar train wreck, Alemi puts you through many unpredictable (but mostly plausible) 90-degree plot turns that are wonderfully intriguing.
I must add though that I almost put it down. Interruptions, for me at least, got off to a kind of slow start. The story of Farzin dragged at first, but then, somewhere about 50 pages in, I couldn't put it down, the story got juicy, a little twisted and interesting. Alemi goes out of his way to spin a fictional tale that's rooted in well-researched, historical reality. The historical context is used to explore both the development of the central character and to expose the character of his family, and other individuals in the book, as they cope in different ways with the pressure of the society and changing regimes. Quite simply, it is a beautiful and engaging novel which at its heart, is a story of longing and love, but the multilayered political, religious and familial storylines bring a richness to the reader that no ordinary romantic story could possibly deliver.

Our story begins in Tehran at the end of spring 1981. With spring still in the air, and romance in bloom, high school teacher Farzin Rouhani leaves his squabbling parents at home and sets off for an illicit stroll and a secret visit to his male lover. His timing is terrible, and he finds himself in the middle of an illegal protest march. Mistaken for a ringleader, he is arrested and interrogated, and thrown into the holding pen of the Office to Combat Vices.

Damned if he confesses the truth, and damned if he confesses the lie, Farzin stalls the interrogating officer by giving a statement, which like Scheherazade (Shahrazad) seems to take 1001 nights to complete. Writing on scraps of paper or anything he can get his hands on, Farzin tells an extended version of his family story, and this, coupled with sections describing the politics of Iran at the time and descriptions of his fellow inmates, takes up the middle of the book.

Being more a fan of literature-lite, I found the middle part slow going, but this didn't make it any less compelling or informative. The pace picks up considerably at the end, when Farzin's masterpiece gets closer to present day, and the story of his parents.

Although this is by no means light reading, there's something for everybody - politics, intrigue, romance, deception and observations on man's inhumanity to man. Perfect for when you need a little heavier fare to keep you grounded.



Amanda Richards, February 3, 2008

Mr. Alemi spins a great tale. He is capable of transporting a reader through place and time, of making the exotic familiar, recognizable, and therefore any reader can empathize with his characters. I suspect Alemi will be compared to Leon Uris and Michener as an historical novelist. As a first book, "Interruptions" is quite an achievement, and I look to forward to reading his next novel.

"An interruption may be thought of as an event as much as a profound absence thereof. There always comes in the course of a human life, or of a nation's evolution in history, a moment at which an unexpected affair appears to derail the natural progression of the state of being. The greater the forces of the purported progression, the larger the impact of the interruption." - Author Massud Alemi

INTERRUPTIONS by Massud Alemi is a novel about disrupted lives, both the national life of Iran and the lives of (fictional) citizens.

It's the spring of 1981 in Tehran as the young high-school history teacher, Farzin Rouhani, sets out to visit his male lover. His journey through the city is interrupted by a noisy street demonstration by students protesting the closing of colleges and universities by the theocratic regime of Ayatollah Khoumeini. Though not a participant in the protest that turns violent, Farzin's attempt to help an injured demonstrator causes him to be abducted by a band of pro-government vigilantes. Thrown into a gaol run by the Office to Combat Vices, Rouhani is pressured to confess to his subversive guilt by his interrogator, Hamid. Desperate to conceal his homosexuality, Farzin's written "confession" is rather a lengthy and meandering account of his ancestry, which focuses chiefly on his father Nozar and mother Sophie and their messy emotional relationships with others prior to their own dysfunctional union. The story of Nozar and Sophie is told against the backdrop of tumultuous Iranian national history encompassing the period from the 1920s to the early 1950s.

Here, I must digress to give a superficial sketch of Iranian politics during the period. It's a summary that author Alemi fails to provide though, in fairness, he did apparently include such in the novel's original manuscript. (In an email communication with this reviewer, Massud stated that he was advised to edit his original 270,000-word first draft down to a more marketable 90,000 words. Thus, much background information was cut from the published edition, in which residual information necessary to the plot is introduced piecemeal and in a way that may confuse readers not even minimally acquainted with Iran's history.)

Reza Savad-Koohi (a.k.a. Reza Khan), in his capacity as the army's charismatic national commander, deposed the last shah of the Qajar Dynasty in 1925 to become Reza Shah, the first of the Pahlavi Dynasty. Reza embarked on a vigorous program of national and socio-economic modernization. Reza Shah ruled until 1941, at which time he abdicated in the face of an Anglo-Soviet invasion intended to forestall a perceived alliance of Iran with Nazi Germany. Reza's designated successor was his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who ruled as shah until he himself was deposed in 1979. During the second Pahlavi's reign, in 1953, Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (now known as British Petroleum). Derived of its oil revenue, the British convinced the Americans that Mossadegh was about to lead Iran into the Soviet camp. Subsequently, British Intelligence and the CIA, the latter under the local direction of Kermit Roosevelt, grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt, stage managed Mossadegh's ouster and installed a certain General Zahedi as PM. The memory of this coup served as a rallying point for the 1979 anti-shah revolutionaries.

So, back to INTERRUPTIONS.

My interest was immediately captured by Farzin's predicament. Would he manage to outwit his captors to gain his freedom? Moreover, through the arrest histories of several other prisoners in Rouhani's cell, the reader is instructed on the ostensible sorts of "crimes" that would then (1981), and presumably now, get one into hot water in fundamentalist Iran. Then, the bulk of the narrative becomes the story of Farzin's parents told against the backdrop of national events, both of which are impacted by interruptions, the karmic influence of which serve as the underlying theme of Alemi's tale.

In the very last chapter, the author volunteers his interpretation of interruptions to the lives of nations and individuals. In my opinion, it would have helped immensely had Massud put this into an Author's Forward. Had he done so, the reader would perhaps be more cognizant of the interruptions to the main characters' lives (and Iran as a whole) in the sense of perceiving them as illustrative of the underlying theme. As it was, I became so focused on keeping track of who was who in the family history such that it would all make sense at the end that the theme was lost to view. Perhaps it would be to the reader's benefit to read the last chapter first. True, doing so would prematurely reveal Farzin's fate, but the value of his own interrupted journey is more valuable to the reader in the getting there rather than the destination, so knowing his ending beforehand is pretty much irrelevant.

Nozar and Sophie, and those to whom they were emotionally tied, are all believable and sympathetic characters. In Alemi's hands, Farzin and Hamid take on the role of facilitators of the wider personal story, and Nozar and Sophie become affected players in the national drama.

Its shortcomings considered, I was initially inclined to award INTERRUPTIONS three stars, and would recommend the novel to another only if that individual had an interest in understanding and learning more about Iran, an endeavor that becomes more useful and necessary day by day as that nation (and, indeed, extremist Moslem fundamentalism at large) adopts a major role on the global stage. However, the importance of a window on that part of the world being what it is, I'm awarding four stars for what knowledge and insight about Iran the book imparts, albeit imperfectly. The volume will not appeal, perhaps, to that segment of the (Western) reading populace inertly satisfied to be entertained by the latest Stephen King, John Grisham, or trashy romance novel.