Censoring An Iranian Love Story - Shahriar Mandanipour

Censoring An Iranian Love Story
Shahriar Mandanipour
Little Brown

It's no easy feat writing a love story at the best of times. It is doubly hard if you are an Iranian writer hoping to have your book published in the Islamic Republic. The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance take a serious view towards protecting the Iranian people from illicit phrases that may lead their thoughts and imaginations astray. This is the challenge the narrator of the book faces as he weaves the relationship between two young lovers Dara and Sara.

Woven in between the love story and the daily frustrations of the narrator, are subplots that draw the reader into the poetry and stories deeply rooted in the Persion mythology. At times these subplots work, at times they become confusing. This could be the fault of the translation - this book was originally written in Farsi- or it could be because some things lose their original meaning once translated.

Censoring An Iranian Love Story is at times darkly comic, at times disturbing and at times a frustrating read. It's a satirical sketch of the hypocracy the authorities perpetrate to maintain a public image of protecting the Iranians who may otherwise fall prey to impure thoughts. I found the ending disappointingly unsatisfactory but otherwise Censoring an Iranian Love Story, is an interesting meditation of modern life in Iran.