Description
Set in Iran in the decade following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, this moving, richly imagined novel is narrated by the ghost of Bahar, a thirteen-year-old girl, whose family is compelled to flee their home in Tehran for a new life in a small village, hoping in this way to preserve both their intellectual freedom and their lives. But they soon find themselves caught up in the post-revolutionary chaos that sweeps across their ancient land. Bahar's mother, after a tragic loss, embarks on a long, eventful journey in search of meaning in a world swept up in the post-revolutionary madness. Told from the wise yet innocent gaze of a young girl, The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree speaks of the power of imagination when confronted with cruelty and of our human need to make sense of trauma through the ritual of storytelling itself. Through her unforgettable characters, Azar weaves a timely and timeless story that juxtaposes the beauty of an ancient, vibrant culture with the brutality of an oppressive political regime.… (more)
Genres
Collections
Publication
Melbourne, [Vic.] : Wild Dingo Press, 2020.
Pages
272
User reviews
LibraryThing member mmmorsi
This is a fantastic journey. A recommended read.
It's not your usual writing style but once you let yourself flow along and be carried (by the excellent translation), there is a story that will teach you, make you happy and sad, enlightened and grateful.
Definitely recommended.
It's not your usual writing style but once you let yourself flow along and be carried (by the excellent translation), there is a story that will teach you, make you happy and sad, enlightened and grateful.
Definitely recommended.
LibraryThing member labfs39
This is a remarkable novel about a family during and after the Iranian Revolution, but told in a magical realism style that often makes it difficult to know exactly what is happening. One has to suspend logic, and instead ride the waves of myth, magic, and metaphor. The story is narrated by the
When the Revolution begins, Bahar and her family were wealthy intellectuals who lived in a beautiful home. After a tragic attack, the family moves to a very remote village where the mullahs have little sway at first. But even here they cannot escape the effects of fundamentalism, war, and sorrow. Ghosts, mermaids, black snows, jinns, and wildly growing plants symbolize various emotional tolls that the Revolution has taken. Only at the very end of the book do we learn what really happened to the mother and sister, Beeta.
I found the author's ruminations on death to be interesting. At one point Bahar says,
...I'd made a mistake. I had been wrong to think that death only marked the end of some things. No! Death was the end of everything. The end of my body, my identity, my credibility. The end of everything that had meant something to me in life: family, love, trust, friendship. Yes...death was the end of all these things.
A fellow ghost comments, "Death hasn't made humans any happier."
I also enjoyed the passages about the importance of books. Although the Revolutionary Guards had burned most of their books, they slowly collect more, and later Bahar's father returns to his family home which still has a large collection.
Every book he touched was more than a book. It was a memory. His entire destiny. It was longing.
Another interesting metaphor is the River of Oblivion. An entire village falls into a deep sleep, because "sorrow brings oblivion." The being responsible for the stupor says, "I'm not the one who goes after people, it is always the people who come after me." When reality becomes too overwhelming, oblivion is the escape, but resolves nothing. When Bahar's father eventually returns to Tehran, he is forced to confront reality and to analyze his own role in allowing the mullahs to take over the country.
He bought the newspaper every day, and though he knew that much of it was devoid of truth, he wanted to know what had become of the rest of the population while he had been away—after the war, after the mass executions, after the flight of the educated and wealthy from the country. He still didn't have the courage to leave the house, to walk among people in the streets who, either through their silence of their ignorance, had practically killed others to take their places. He still couldn't forgive: not others, and not himself.
Although not always an easy book to read, [The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree] is an interesting way to look at the Iranian Revolution and its effects. When the world goes crazy, magic realism doesn't seem so farfetched.
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ghost of thirteen-year-old Bahar, who has the ability to make herself visible to her family and intervene on their behalf. When the Revolution begins, Bahar and her family were wealthy intellectuals who lived in a beautiful home. After a tragic attack, the family moves to a very remote village where the mullahs have little sway at first. But even here they cannot escape the effects of fundamentalism, war, and sorrow. Ghosts, mermaids, black snows, jinns, and wildly growing plants symbolize various emotional tolls that the Revolution has taken. Only at the very end of the book do we learn what really happened to the mother and sister, Beeta.
I found the author's ruminations on death to be interesting. At one point Bahar says,
...I'd made a mistake. I had been wrong to think that death only marked the end of some things. No! Death was the end of everything. The end of my body, my identity, my credibility. The end of everything that had meant something to me in life: family, love, trust, friendship. Yes...death was the end of all these things.
A fellow ghost comments, "Death hasn't made humans any happier."
I also enjoyed the passages about the importance of books. Although the Revolutionary Guards had burned most of their books, they slowly collect more, and later Bahar's father returns to his family home which still has a large collection.
Every book he touched was more than a book. It was a memory. His entire destiny. It was longing.
Another interesting metaphor is the River of Oblivion. An entire village falls into a deep sleep, because "sorrow brings oblivion." The being responsible for the stupor says, "I'm not the one who goes after people, it is always the people who come after me." When reality becomes too overwhelming, oblivion is the escape, but resolves nothing. When Bahar's father eventually returns to Tehran, he is forced to confront reality and to analyze his own role in allowing the mullahs to take over the country.
He bought the newspaper every day, and though he knew that much of it was devoid of truth, he wanted to know what had become of the rest of the population while he had been away—after the war, after the mass executions, after the flight of the educated and wealthy from the country. He still didn't have the courage to leave the house, to walk among people in the streets who, either through their silence of their ignorance, had practically killed others to take their places. He still couldn't forgive: not others, and not himself.
Although not always an easy book to read, [The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree] is an interesting way to look at the Iranian Revolution and its effects. When the world goes crazy, magic realism doesn't seem so farfetched.
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LibraryThing member Dreesie
This started off great, with a family that fled Tehran for a very rural village before the Revolution. Then it went downhill with ghosts, a mermaid, and so on and so forth. I finished, but really all the fantasy/mystical stuff just did not interest me. I was interested in the family and their real,
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believable experiences. Show Less
LibraryThing member LibroLindsay
This was one of the oddest of bittersweet books I've read. I found it often delightful, sometimes disturbing, occasionally forgettable. That last bit sounds harsh--it is due to the structure. The book seems to be a halfway point between a standard novel and interlocking short stories, which is
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intriguing in concept, but I also didn't necessarily feel compelled to keep on to find out what's next. Honestly, it's not necessarily a criticism. I did like this book! Show Less
LibraryThing member BrokenTune
I picked this up because of the gorgeous cover and because the premise of a story of magical realism but set in revolutionary and post-revolutionary Iran seemed too good to pass on.
Having finished, the book, I really am not sure what to make of it. I certainly did not enjoy it. However, how can
Still, I had some issues with the writing also: I liked how the author intertwined folklore and magical elements with a straight narrative in this story. I liked how we get to follow our narrator and Khomeini (at least for a while). However, this change of POV also made the book feel disjointed. At the same time, I am not sure I could have actually read much of the book if it had not been for the magical elements because, as I said, it just reads like a never-ending list of torture and killings. And while I understand that this is kind of the point of the book, I would rather turn to non-fiction for this. I need something else from fiction. Something that leaves room for imagination. Something that makes me want to find out more. Not something that makes me want to put the book down and move on wishing I had not read it.
So, while I understand that this is in a way an important book because it strives to tell of the living and dying conditions in Iran after 1988, including the mass killings and religious persecutions leading to tortures and … more killings, and while I understand that the book itself is also a huge middle finger raised towards the current Iranian regime, I felt left out as a reader. There was little in the book that I could connect with as someone who has no links to the history and people of Iran. And once the major twist in the story was revealed (not much of a twist as I expected the revelation somehow – without it, the POV would not have made sense), there was just little to keep me reading. And while I finished the book, I feel like a vould and perhaps should have abandoned it much earlier because there was not much more in the way of story development that was added after the “big reveal”.
Having finished, the book, I really am not sure what to make of it. I certainly did not enjoy it. However, how can
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anyone enjoy a book that reads like a long list of atrocities committed against people who should be be neighbours and friends. How can one enjoy a book that cannot give credit to the translator because listing their name would put them in mortal danger? How can one enjoy a book that, despite it’s colourful cover, is nothing but bleak and full of hopelessness and despair?Still, I had some issues with the writing also: I liked how the author intertwined folklore and magical elements with a straight narrative in this story. I liked how we get to follow our narrator and Khomeini (at least for a while). However, this change of POV also made the book feel disjointed. At the same time, I am not sure I could have actually read much of the book if it had not been for the magical elements because, as I said, it just reads like a never-ending list of torture and killings. And while I understand that this is kind of the point of the book, I would rather turn to non-fiction for this. I need something else from fiction. Something that leaves room for imagination. Something that makes me want to find out more. Not something that makes me want to put the book down and move on wishing I had not read it.
So, while I understand that this is in a way an important book because it strives to tell of the living and dying conditions in Iran after 1988, including the mass killings and religious persecutions leading to tortures and … more killings, and while I understand that the book itself is also a huge middle finger raised towards the current Iranian regime, I felt left out as a reader. There was little in the book that I could connect with as someone who has no links to the history and people of Iran. And once the major twist in the story was revealed (not much of a twist as I expected the revelation somehow – without it, the POV would not have made sense), there was just little to keep me reading. And while I finished the book, I feel like a vould and perhaps should have abandoned it much earlier because there was not much more in the way of story development that was added after the “big reveal”.
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Awards
National Book Award (Longlist — Translated Literature — 2020)
Queensland Literary Awards (Finalist — Fiction — 2018)
The International Booker Prize (Shortlist — 2020)
Stella Prize (Shortlist — 2018)
Library Journal Best Books (2020)
Original publication date
2017
2020 (English translation)