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Oscar nominee and Emmy Award-winning actress Shohreh Aghdashloo shares her remarkable personal journey--from a childhood in the Shah's Iran to the red carpets of Hollywood--in The Alley of Love and Yellow Jasmines, a dazzling memoir of family, faith, and hope. When Shohreh Aghdashloo was growing up in Teheran, stardom was a distant dream, especially since her parents had more practical plans for their daughter... When revolution swept Iran in 1978, the Ayatollah Khomeini's religious regime brought stifling restrictions on women and art. Shohreh Aghdashloo seized the moment and boldly left her husband for Europe and eventually, America, a vastly different culture. Shohreh Aghdashloo writes poignantly about her struggles as an outsider in a new culture--as a woman, a Muslim, and a Persian--adapting to a new land and a new language, and shares behind-the-scenes stories about what it's really like to be an actress in Hollywood. The Alley of Love and Yellow Jasmines includes original color photographs from the author.… (more)
User reviews
Though there have been numerous memoirs and stories written around the Iranian Revolution, several of which I have read, Shohreh Aghdashloo's appears to fill an untouched space. It seems very little has been written from the perspective of someone from an affluent background who had the means to leave the country. Seeing the revolution from these different points of view makes it clear that, although certain aspects of life may have been easier, very few in Iran were exempt from unjust treatment.
Just before picking up my copy of The Alley of Love and Yellow Jasmines to begin reading, I caught an interview with Shohreh Aghdashloo on NPR's The Diane Rehm Show. In the hour-long interview, Rehm and Aghdashloo discuss some of the same topics from the memoir, which made me quite excited to get reading. However, I was slightly disappointed by how much of Aghdashloo's spirit seemed to be missing when I was reading the book. Some of the language reads very formal and choppy, almost as if it were over-edited. The passion she had when discussing some of the same situations in the interview felt a little lost.
Still, I was surprised by how much I learned by reading The Alley of Love and Yellow Jasmines. For anyone who has enjoyed reading about the Iranian Revolution in the past, this will not simply be a replay of everything you have heard before. Shohreh Aghdashloo's story is a testament to the power of ambition and strength.