Weddings always have their fair share of drama, but this one comes on the heels of the highly controversial 2009 Iranian election and ensuing Green Wave protests.
When the matriarch of Sarah’s family arranged her marriage to Ali, it was with the intention of uniting two compatible families. However, as the 2009 election becomes contentious, political differences emerge and Sarah’s conservative family tries to call off the wedding. Sarah and Ali, however, have fallen in love and, against the wishes of their parents, insist on going through with the marriage.
Sarah’s cousin, Sadegh, is a staunch supporter of the government and a member of the Basij, the volunteer militia tasked with arresting protestors and shutting down speech against the regime. Meanwhile, Ali’s sister, Azar, is an activist, a divorce attorney, and a passionate Green Wave supporter, trying to enact change in a way that many Iranians see as inflammatory. When Sarah impulsively shelters a protestor in their car on the drive home from her wedding, she sets off a chain of events that can either unmask the government’s brutality or ruin them all.
Sarah, Sadegh, and Azar’s stories weave together in an unflinching, humorous, and at times terrifying story that demonstrates that, even as the world is falling apart around us, choices matter.
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“Ehsaneh Sadr’s debut novel A Door Between Us is a powerful story that illuminates both the personal and the deeply political aspects of contemporary Iranian society. Sadr’s understanding and depth of knowledge about the ways Iranians must navigate societal and familial pressures in a time of crisis is a refreshing shift from the many flat and essentialized ways Iran has been framed by media narratives. Her writing is a reminder of all the things we’re missing in seeing and understanding Iran, as well as the ways that she, as an insider-outsider, narrates some of the painful and recent history of Iran for non-Iranians. An impressive and relevant work that adds to the richness of our Iranian-American literary canon.”
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Persis Karim, director, Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies & coeditor, Tremors: New Fiction by Iranian American Writers