Writing a Love Story in Tehran

Iran's writers have been pushed into creative exile. Where once Iran had produced internationally acclaimed literary works such as Savushun, The Blind Owl, and My Uncle Napoleon, Iranian writers today are more often known for harrowing memoirs recounting their oppression under Iran's Islamic regime. My Uncle Napoleon is no more, having been banned by the authorities since 1979, as well any uncensored edition of The Blind Owl. Unsatisfied with the physical expulsion of Americans from Iran, Khomeini's disciples have tried to cleanse all hints of Western influence from the country and its literature, resorting to force when necessary. The effects on Iran's creative writing scene have been deleterious, to say the least, but a few have since found success with distressing memoirs geared towards the lucrative Western market. Yet some argue that something beautiful about Iran has been lost among this surge in tales of doom and gloom. Censoring an Iranian Love Story, the latest Iranian memoir written for a Western audience, thankfully manages to bridge this gap by highlighting the beauty of Iran while refusing to pull a veil over the ugly truth.

Censoring an Iranian Love Story manages to be concurrently playful and saddening, confounding and enlightening. The story follows the author, Shahriar Mandanipour, as he attempts to write a love story that would survive Iran's exacting censors and their conservative, Islamic sensitivities. As a result, it is basically two books in one: the fictional love story, written in bold print, juxtaposed with the author's memoir, written in plain text, which explains how he wrote the story and which portions were excised or rewritten. As the story advances, these alterations—which change or remove scenes that are at times fun and witty, at others stark or sensual—sadly account for more and more of the finished product as the story progresses.

Rather than being the pro–Western polemic it easily could have been, Mandanipour instead prefers to use his story as a platform to educate the reader on Iran's rich cultural heritage. He does so by fusing the license of literature with the weight of historical exposition, painting a nuanced portrait of his country that never compromises his honest criticism. Much of this is told through his love story; the labor of the author's love, providing a revealing insight into Mandanipour's affection for the country which spurns and flirts with him all the same. Outwardly modest, the book's ambition becomes apparent as the story unfolds.

The love story in question follows a young Iranian pair, Sara and Dara, two university students who, apart from Dara's brief experience as a leftist political prisoner, live rather undistinguished lives. Dara becomes attracted to Sara when he notices that she shares his passion for literature, but since Iran's Campaign Against Social Corruption prevents them from socializing, Dara instead sends encoded messages to Sara written inside of his favorite books. The story revolves around Sara and Dara as they try to avoid the disapproving eyes of the state police, their neighbors, and their parents to finally meet face to face. In the process of doing so, they fall in love. The story of a young man and woman falling in love despite never having seen the contours of one another's face is far removed from the reality of the Western audience that the memoir is intended for. Yet the sense of normalcy that seeps through Sara and Dara, and their attraction to each other, manage to keep the love story grounded and realistic. Mandanipour provides enough unpredictability and literary license to keep the romance lively and interesting while remaining truthful, honest, and close to the Iranian audience that Mandanipour's love story was originally intended to reach.

Much of the memoir portion details the creative process behind the love story, which provides a fascinating excursion in and of itself. It is not often a reader is taken on a creative journey through the eyes of an author, and this device is...