My Life as a Traitor: An Iranian Memoir [Paperback]

Zarah Ghahramani (Author), Robert Hillman (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 6, 2009

At the age of twenty, Zarah Ghahramani was swept off the streets of Tehran and taken to the notorious Evin prison, where criminals and political dissidents were held side by side in conditions of legendary brutality. In this richly textured memoir, she tells the terrifying, inspiring story of her time in prison. My Life as a Traitor celebrates a triumph of the individual over the state and is an affecting addition to the literature of struggle and dissent.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The second-year Iranian college student in 2001 knew that making that speech meant trouble, but she had no real expectation of being kidnapped in the heart of Tehran and hustled off to the notorious Evin Prison. Eventually, the 20-year-old Ghahramani is sentenced to 30 days and a few days—and several beatings—later is dumped in a vacant countryside to make her way home. Scenes from a happy family life (crippled by the Iran-Iraq war) and a spirited adolescence (cut short by a repressive regime) alternate with the prison experiences in this multilayered account. Ghahramani, daughter of a Muslim father and Zoroastrian mother, both Kurdish, dips with brevity and grace into personal family history and public political history. Graphic and powerful as her treatment of torturous imprisonment is, Ghahramani retains an irrepressible lightness, perhaps born of knowing that [a] sense of justice can always benefit from a complementary sense of the ridiculous. Her painfully acquired knowledge of how easy it is to reduce a human being to the level of animal does not keep her from wondering if I'll ever be pretty again. Nothing, however, dilutes the bare bones prison experience. Her straightforward style, elegant in its simplicity, has resonance and appeal beyond a mere record.
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Review

A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of 2008

“[Ghahramani] records, in harrowing detail, the dire consequences of indulging her defiant ‘pink-shoe sensibility…” Ghahramani writes in a spare, eloquent prose style that reflects both her child’s view of the world before arriving at Evin and the pared-down perceptions of her prison experience.” –The New York Times 

 “In Ghahramani’s graceful, chilling memoir, her naiveté gives way to fearless insights about her country and herself.  Questioning the status quo made her a traitor to a fundamentalist regime, but in this searingly honest, brave book, she’s nothing short of heroic.” –People

“[Ghahramani] recounts her beatings with dignified anger in this vivid, sometimes horrifying memoir… Her strength: she doesn’t let outrage overtake the striking feminine vitality of her storytelling.” –Entertainment Weekly

“Chilling… Riveting… Like the best-selling graphic novel series Persepolis, My Life as a Traitor is compelling for its seemingly unvarnished glimpse at the experiences of an ordinary young woman in post-1979 Iran…. The memoir illuminates truths about inflexible and dictatorial regimes.” –San Francisco Chronicle

“Married and now living in Australia, Ghahramani has had time to reflect. In this memoir, she does so, evoking both the beauty of her culture and the horror of its regime.” – New York Daily News

“We think something like that could never happen to us. But it happened to Zarah Ghahramani just a few years ago in Iran.” –Philadelphia Inquirer  

“Graphic and powerful as her treatment of torturous imprisonment is, Ghahramani retains an irrepressible lightness… Her straightforward style, elegant in its simplicity, has resonance and appeal beyond a mere record.” –Publishers Weekly

“Ghahramani’s shockingly honest recollections grimly complement Marina Nemat’s account of her ordeal at Evin in the early 1980s… reminding us of how little has changed for women in Iran.” –Kirkus Reviews

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (January 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374531641
• ISBN-13: 978-0374531645
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #925,972 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly Moving...., January 5, 2008

By 

Kim "Kim" (Albq, NM) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Life as a Traitor: An Iranian Memoir (Hardcover)

Zarah takes us through her days in Evin, a notorious prison in Iran. She spends 30 days of sheer torture for making comments and protests against the government. She gives us a history of her childhood, the politics in Iran, and information on her family dynamics. Every other chapter discusses what happened to her in Evin Prison (she was brutally beat and humiliated). It's hard to believe someone could go through what she went through. She is an excellent writer, intelligent, and strong (although she doubts her strength often throughout the book). I would love to see a follow up to this book on how she coped after getting out and how she feels living away from her family (she now lives in Australia).

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mixed feelings, but ultimately a triumph, June 4, 2009

By 

Harry M. Shin (Livermore, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Life as a Traitor: An Iranian Memoir (Paperback)

This is one of the tougher books to review because I had mixed feelings while reading this book. On the one hand, I was frustrated with the author's maddening (at least from my point of view) level of naivete, self-indulgence, tendency towards moral relativism, and obvious hypocrisy in regards to life and how the world work etc... On the otherhand... the author readily admits to the above shortcomings (perhaps not the moral relativism) with astonishingly honesty and clarity. It's an amazingly well written book; easy to read, insightful, entertaining, horrific at times etc... and most importantly--> written with complete honesty. All of which makes one want a part II of the author's story post Iran. Highly recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating (true) tale of cruelty and hope, October 1, 2008

By 

Elizabeth Ray (Stockton, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: My Life as a Traitor: An Iranian Memoir (Hardcover)

This is one of the most moving memoirs I have ever read. It is the story of Zarah, a college student who dares to become involved with her fellow students as a political activist. She is snatched off the street one day and sent to Evin prison. Only after being beaten and tortured for days is she allowed her day in court, though she has already been pronounced guilty.

Zarah's story is told in alternating chapters. One chapter will talk about her days in Evin, while the next tells part of her life story up until the time of her arrest. The latter chapters provide a fascinating insight into what life in Iran is like for young women.

Although very difficult to read, this book is also very inspiring. Zarah somehow manages to hang onto her humanity despite the brutal treatment she receives at Evin, and thanks to her courage we are able to read her fascinating story.