The Things People Want Are Sometimes Bad For Them

People are punished for wanting things and not adhering to the status quo. The author shows throughout the book that it is dangerous to want things. However, the author is not cautioning the reader against wanting things. Nor is she punishing her characters. She is simply showing the truth, or at least what the truth is for two young lesbians in Iran.

Nasrin is created in the mold of the dark lady icon. This is a woman who is beautiful and mysterious, and the mystery only makes her more alluring. She could be like a detective’s femme fatale in a noir movie. Either because the book is told from Sahar’s point of view, or because she naturally withholds her emotions, the reader rarely knows what she is thinking, which makes her (at least potentially) dangerous. Sahar...