The ‘79 Iranian Revolution: A D.C. Author Remembers
The House on Sun Street is a lyrical, nuanced novel that brings the Iranian Revolution of 1979 to life. Author Mojgan Ghazirad is a native of Iran who now lives in the D.C. area. She is a medical doctor and an assistant professor of pediatrics at George Washington University. She’s waded through her childhood memories of living through the Revolution to show us the human dimension of a country in turmoil.
It’s easy to get lost in this beautiful novel, with its poetic prose, quiet but powerful voice, and strong cast of characters. As a reader, I also appreciate the chance to learn more about an historical era through fiction when it’s written by an individual who knows her subject matter inside and out. But what makes this book sing is the unsettling relevance to today’s world. The story feels relevant not only to the current state of political upheaval in Iran and the Middle East, but to everything that’s going on in America right now.
Like her protagonist, Gharizad grew up in Tehran, and her childhood was shaped by the Iranian Revolution, also known as the Islamic Revolution. Before the shakeup, the monarchy of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, was seen by many as brutal, corrupt, and beholden to the West. A coalition of diverse groups, including democrats, socialists, communists, anti-imperialists, and Islamists, united against the Shah.
Author Mojgan Ghazirad
Many idealists failed to predict the radical religious reforms that would come under the new leader, the cleric Ayatollah Khomeini, particularly the restrictions on women and the policing of speech and thought. Ghazirad’s novel depicts Iran after the Revolution as a country where the illusion of democracy masks a reality of oppression, where women's bodies and minds are controlled, books are censored, and individuals are intimidated into conformity.
Told from the perspective of a child who often doesn’t understand the ramifications of what’s happening around her, The House on Sun Street feels simultaneously real and surreal. The novel’s narrator, Moji, offers up scenes of life in Tehran in exquisite detail, from shortly before the Revolution to the first few years of the new regime. But Moji, only six at the start and thirteen by the end, struggles to understand her rapidly evolving world. This new world often doesn’t make sense or seem possible, and so the story she tells takes on a surreal quality.
It’s a magical world dominated by storytelling, especially tales from the classic book One Thousand and One Nights that her grandfather read aloud to her. Moji witnesses how narratives are used for political gain, especially within her divided family. Her father, loyal to the Shah, is fearful of upheaval, while her teenage aunts and twenty-something uncle are itching for revolution.
“The events of that evening remain crystalline in my mind, as if I have recorded a movie clip and watched it hundreds of times. There was unspoken strangeness in the streets of Tehran.”
-Mojgan Ghazirad, The House on Sun Street
As her grandfather reads stories of princesses and magic carpets to Moji and her younger sister, her uncle talks excitedly about the promise of equality and justice if the regime is overthrown. Meanwhile, Moji’s mother tries to keep life as normal as possible for the children. But outside in the streets, trouble is brewing. Moji witnesses a crowd tearing down a statue that symbolizes the ousted monarchy. On the first night of the Revolution, she walks through the streets with her mother and sister, as men with guns hop in and out of trenches they’ve dug along the city square, while others crowd around hand-held radios waiting for news.
Moji’s aunts are initially both ardent revolutionaries, but their viewpoints diverge as the reality of the Revolution sets in. Leila becomes skeptical when the Revolution’s reforms threaten women’s rights, and her own dreams of becoming a doctor. Uncle Reza and Aunt Saba move in the opposite direction, both becoming more religious and more devoted to the Revolution. The family was secular before the Revolution, but in this new world Saba transforms into rigidly pious woman, burning her Western music records in the front garden and taking her modest dress far beyond the headscarf now required for all women.
“None of us recognized her at first. She was wearing a black chador, covering every inch of her body, as if she had transformed into a shapeless, black, rolling sack without hands or feet.”
-Mojgan Ghazirad, The House on Sun Street
The novel is peppered with many political discussions, and Ghazirad generally does a good job of showcasing the diverse perspectives at play in Iran, by having family members and other characters discuss their points of view. Across the ideological spectrum, the author shows us nuanced people, not angels, devils, or cardboard cutouts.
These important conversations help Moji and the reader understand the rapidly changing situation through multiple points of view. But sometimes, the author renders the debates awkward, with stilted or unrealistic dialogue. Overall, the book is written beautifully, but these inelegant exchanges pulled me out of the action.
I have an issue with the ending, which felt abrupt and left me unsure of the author’s intentions. I did appreciate much of the later chapters, particularly seeing Moji grow from a child into a teen as she gains more autonomy and explores her own identity. Overall, The House on Sun Street excels because–for all its social commentary–the book never loses its very human heart. This is a tale of a young girl coming of age in a world transforming so radically it feels like she’s living inside a story. There’s no magic carpet, but it’s a wild ride.
Norah Vawter is the Local Authors Editor for DC Trending. She’s a freelance writer, editor, and novelist represented by Victress Literary. Norah lives in Virginia with her family. Follow @norahvawter on IG and Twitter.