The Heart's Desire

In this time of growing mistrust of Americans by Muslims and Muslims by Americans, it is most helpful to read something by someone who has seen both sides. Ms. Rachlin seems to know what is good and bad in both cultures. She pulls no punches in uncovering the corruption and negative aspects of both. Yet, at the same time she celebrates what is good in each and you are left with a feeling that as far apart as the extremes of both sides would like you to believe you are, the simple fact is: people are the same all over. Their viewpoints might differ and they may feel comfortable in different social climates, but basically everyone is looking for the same things: health, comfort, love. Arguing that members of other societies are evil, primitive, selfish, or ignorant does a disservice to all peoples of the world and is not helping to allay the progressively more combative atmosphere we are presently finding ourselves in. We need more communication such as is found in this book.

Take this book to the smallest room in the house, use it deservedly and flush it through the system all the way to the sewers. But as it going to feel rough on the skin, it's not even good enough for that.

Considering all the brainwash we get about Iran of the Ayattolahs, Rahlin account of a trip made by an American-Iranian couple from the States to Iran is refreshing. This is not your general stereotype and Iranian's society is described from an objective angle, neither good nor bad. The system is described partly as lacking corruption and on the other side "connections are everything". Both the American woman, Jennifer, and the Iranian husband, Jamshid, go through an out-of-marriage affair, that shows them how far they are from each other, and in many ways these affairs get them closer. This is also the story of Karim the immigrant, and his encounter with American society and its prejudices, as well as his feelings of being a strangers in America, in spite of having a good job at the university and an American wife and son. The style is very simple and clear. I found this book very innformative on Iranian society in the last half century, from the Shah to the Ayatollas, a very different description than the one that goes in the press.

This book is definitely worth your time. The author beautifully reveals the differences between the two cultures with almost no bias or judgement. I strongly recommend reading it as it honestly depicts the emotional journey of an immigrant and his wife as the immigrant faces the reality of living in a foreign country. The book makes the reader think about deep emotional impacts of the native culture that we may or may not be aware of. At the end, the story does not really end but remains open which allows the reader to continue thinking about what would seperate two people from two cultures and what could bring them together. I hope that there will be a sequel to this book that shows the characters later on in their lives, like after 10 or 20 years.

Just finished this book as part of a Middle Eastern fiction period I'm going through. I expected this to be a clone of Not Without My Daughter (although that is nonfiction) but I was quite wrong. The author, an Iranian woman who lives and teaches in New York, was able to show all characters with compassion and respect for their points of view. She was able to point out bad things that happened both in the U.S. and Iran without condemning either country or culture. She let the characters tell the story, and left them with hope at the end. I do remember the hostage crisis in the late 1970s, and many Iranians in the U.S. were retaliated against for something they had nothing to do with. The author, through some of the characters, is able to make readers feel the unfairness of this treatment. While I may not agree with every point of view in a different culture, it is helpful to begin to understand them.