Camelia

An extraordinarily vivid look inside post-revolutionary Iran, Camelia is the memoir of Iranian journalist Camelia Entekhabi-Fard, who was sent to...more

An extraordinarily vivid look inside post-revolutionary Iran, Camelia is the memoir of Iranian journalist Camelia Entekhabi-Fard, who was sent to prison because of her bold coverage of current affairs for reformist newspapers. Brandishing her unique gift as a storyteller and a wealth of fascinating detail about Iranian society and culture, she narrates her surreal experience growing up in the turmoil of the revolution and the Iran/Iraq war, punctuated by her comic disposition as a mischievous child and by the tragic losses of family members who fall victim to the political climate of fear, revenge, and extremism. As a teenager, she is drawn to writing and poetry and awakens to a desire to play an active role in the intellectual life of her country. This path ultimately leads to her violent arrest. Faced with a harsh, violent daily existence and the uncertainty of survival, she is struck by the realization that only by convincing herself that she is in love with the chief interrogator does she have any hope of escape. Thus unfolds a harrowing account of a morally and emotionally troubling relationship, during the course of which she is forced to betray her friends and family, to serve the Iranian government, and to give herself unconditionally to this powerful older man. Once out of prison, she must now escape from the clutches of this dangerous and demeaning relationship. It is only after she successfully flees Iran that she can confront within herself what she has been through with her interrogator.   less