Iran

Iran, alongside France, is one of the two most important settings in the novel. Kimiâ grows up in Iran, where her sexuality complicates her relationship with her culture. While on the one hand Kimiâ strongly identifies with Iran, even preferring Persian to English, she also rejects her culture’s narrow-minded advocacy of heterosexuality and refusal to respect, acknowledge, and make space for homosexuals. Moreover, in Iran, the family struggles to navigate the changing political tide.

Iran is a country in the region of the world sometimes referred to as the Middle East. It is located between the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea. The novel covers the years from the late 1960s through the 1980s. In Iranian politics, these years correspond to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s overthrow. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the grandson of the previous Shah who abdicated in 1941, held power until the 1979 coup. In 1969, he declared himself...