Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Veil Of Roses



I liked the premise of the book. Iranian woman who has no rights or opportunities in Iran with the current political situation wants to live in America so she can be the type of woman her parents have always encouraged her to be.

It humanizes Iran (something the news rarely does) and exposes the misguided treatment of women within its country.

Unfortunately, those are the best things about this book. You'll have to excuse me, as its been several weeks and I've forgotten most of the characters' names, but the main character, Tami, contradicts herself throughout the entire book. She's only going to marry for love, but then she comes to America and says yes to a man who clearly has OCD and gives her the creeps. She's seeking independence, but can't stand up to her sister, or her crazy, vulgar friend from Russia.

These contradictions I could forgive, as women are known to be complicated beings, but the ending....unforgivable. Really. For me. Its voice lost any truth or realness that the author had delivered earlier on about a complicated, but probably common situation. I won't spoil it for other readers, but bad endings leave a sour taste in my mouth, and a decent book gets a bit ol' eye roll from me.

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