When I want to learn about world events and political revolutions there's a reason why I don't only read newspaper articles and history books. There's so much more to a country, its people and their culture than can be found in facts. “The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree” describes an Iranian family splintered apart by the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution. They flee their home in Tehran and settle in a small village with the hope of continuing their lives in relative peace but find the new regime imposes changes which hinder or end their lives. The novel doesn't shrink from the brutality of what happens to people who are imprisoned, murdered or suffer wider violence because their beliefs and opinions run counter to the new order. But it also fills these stories with fantastic occurrences including encounters with jinns and a girl who morphs into a mermaid. These tales which draw upon Persian mythology are a way for the characters to process what's happening to them but they also keep their culture alive when it's being quashed by an enforced monotheistic government. A character named Beeta comments “when life is so deficient and mundane why shouldn't imagination supplement reality to liven it up?” So this novel's method of telling also produces an enthralling and beautifully inventive story.
It's noted how many people in the country simply want to get used to the new ruling order but by situating their personal stories within the full breadth of their community's folklore the family commit a passionate act of defiance. Similarly, they seek to defend what is being censored or erased. They are great readers whose books include many titles from Western literature as well as Persian poetry. One of the most vivid and striking scenes comes when their library is being burned in a cruelly slapdash fashion. Bahar, the narrator of this novel witnesses its destruction and while it is perishing she recalls many characters and lines from the books going up in flames. It feels as if holding them in her thoughts will make them continue past the physical pages' destruction. Indeed, the father encourages the family to write down as much as they can remember from the books which have been lost.
Much later, a harrowing moment occurs when the imprisoned father is ordered to write a confession by the morality police and instead recreates the fantastical tales of his family life. It seems just as difficult for his captors to believe in the tragic losses he's suffered as a result of the regime change as it is for them to believe in vengeful spirits. It's powerful how Azar implies it's just as dangerous to be unaware of the full consequences of wider political changes as it is to blindly follow the dictates of a new order.
When revolutionary guards check the family's car for forbidden items they discover a copy of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's “One Hundred Years of Solitude”. The framework for “The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree” is somewhat influenced by that novel's style but, as Azar has noted, it's also based in magical realism that can be found in Persian literature. Since I read this novel as part of the Booker International Prize shortlist, it's an interesting coincidence that another book on the list “Hurricane Season” was also directly influenced by another Marquez novel. An enjoyable part of following prize lists is noticing small parallels like this between very different books.
Overall, I felt this is a stunning novel which is full of passion and romance. It's also very effective in giving voice to those whose stories aren't accounted for in most history books. It makes me want to know more about the country's history as well as its culture and literature.
