This is one of my favorite books on Iran, and one of my favorite to recommend to more casual readers. It is a collection of short stories, ("uncensored Iranian voices" is the tag line) and is an excellent, accessible introduction to the bizarre and paradoxical world of the Islamic Republic. The stories of the various authors are included, and these alone are intriguing and revealing--many faced imprisonment, physical danger, and ostracisation in the process of pursuing their art. Among the cotnributors are Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran, Marjane Satrapi, creator of Persepolis, Shirin Neshat, a famous Iranian visual artist, and Azadeh Moaveni, author of Lipstick Jihad.
The stories range from comical reflections on the schizophrenic experiences of young people in Tehran to the tragic realities of the arbitrary and overbearing Shari'a regime, from the identity crisis of Western-thinking Iranians to the plight of censored artists. "I Used To Think I Was White," "The Death of a Mannequin," "Sex In The Time Of Mullahs," and "Receding Worlds," are a few titles of these pieces, each only a few pages in length but immensely powerful nonetheless.
I highly, highly recommend this book to those who want to explore the intimate, personal side of the mysterious nation of Iran. It's a mere 130 pages, but these words will continue to haunt you long after you close the book.
