Reviews

Aria by Nazanine Hozar

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kayani_z's review against another edition

4.5

Really liked reading about the Iranian revolution through Arias character and loved how all the characters tied together. Even though this book was slow paced so many things happened in it, I was enticed from the beginning. Wish the author explained more about what was happening tho.

samdignam's review against another edition

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4.0

I found this book to be soooo slow the first 3/4 and probably would have given up if a couple friends hadn’t loved it but towards the end I couldn’t put it down. Makes me want to understand more about the Iranian revolution

keirahelena_'s review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

msaari's review against another edition

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4.0

Iran on mielenkiintoinen maa, johon on kiinnostavaa retkeillä näin kirjallisesti. Maan lähihistoriaa värittää tietysti 1940-luvulta alkanut vallankumousten ketju, jossa šaahi ensin nostettiin valtaan, sitten syrjäytettiin, sitten nostettiin vastavallankaappauksella valtaan ja lopulta sitten vuoden 1979 vallankumous, jossa šaahin länsimielinen, itsevaltainen monarkia syrjäytettiin vasemmistolaisten, perustuslaillisten ja uskonnollisten ryhmien voimin ja sitten korvattiin ajatollah Khomeinin johtamalla islamilaisella teokratialla.

Aria alkaa vuonna 1953, jolloin šaahi ensimmäisen kerran syrjäytettiin. Tyttö syntyy, vähän epämääräisiin oloihin, ja joutuu heti vauvana hylätyksi. Nuori sotilas pelastaa vauvan ja vie tämän kotiinsa. Tyttö saa nimekseen Aria, joka on iranissa miehen nimi; sotilas ajattelee italiaksi aarioita nimetessään lapsen. Aria saa äidikseen ankaran Zahran, joka kohtelee tätä kaltoin.

Zahra ei jää Arian ainoaksi äidiksi. Seuraavaksi äidikseen Aria saa varakkaan ja lempeän Ferešten, jonka siipien alla elämä näyttäytyy toisenlaisena kuin Zahran halveksumana. Aria pääsee kouluun ja näkee muutakin elämää kuin vain kodin – jopa kirjaimellisesti, sillä Arian tuo Ferešten luokse trakooma. Vallankumouksen etenemisen myötä Aria saa kolmanneksi äidikseen vielä köyhän ja salaperäisen Mehrin.

Vaikka kirja Ariasta kertookin, Arian osa on olla jossain määrin sivuhenkilö, kun muiden henkilöiden toiminta vie tapahtumia. Aria on sivullinen myös Iranin yhteiskunnan muutoksissa, joita lukijakin pääsee seuraamaan: kuinka kommunistit ja uskonnolliset piirit juonivat šaahin valtaa vastaan, mutta kuinka lopulta valta päätyy ajatollah Khomeinin johtamille uskonnollisille piireille ja miten se sitten näkyy yhteiskunnassa.

Paikoittain Aria etenee vähän raskassoutuisesti, mutta toisaalta kuvaa Irania ja iranilaisia ihmisiä yhteiskunnan julkisivun takana mielenkiintoisella tavalla, valottaen tätä kiinnostavaa ja ristiriitaista maata taas uudesta näkökulmasta.

malinwah's review

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

aksetzer's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book left me with a tangle of complex emotions. I’m not sure I could say I loved it, but I knew I couldn’t put it down either. I think I kept reading to gain a better understanding. Or perhaps I, naively so, was desperately searching for a great meaning or reason for all the tragedies the characters were suffering. I think I feel so unsettled, because like life, there is sometimes no greater meaning to suffering, no hidden theme.

The culture, society, and history of Iran is so complex and I think this novel did a beautiful job of displaying that. However, some of the characters lacked that richness the author used to convey Tehran and it’s societal makeup. Aria, our protagonist, for example, felt detached from the story. I never knew too much about her or how she felt about everything going on around her. Her own views, at times seem wish washy and her opinions seems to stay the same, but with little explanation on why. The story progresses from her infancy to age 28, but I often struggled gauging what age she was because her character development didn’t really show her aging. I also struggled to understand side character and how they often changed overnight as well. Kamran, for example, fell prey to extremism, but we don’t really see that development. We are instead left with this jarring new character and no clue how he changed so fast. Maybe that was intentional.

The boom is surely effective because even though the it left confused, and a tangle of emotions- it has left me thinking. I think it is a story that is going to haunt me for a while, because the conclusion was so unfulfilling. So much suffering and yet our protagonist is left seemingly unchanged, adapting to a new Iran. Was that on purpose? To show how women, and the lives the lead are shaped by these big conflicts for power, and yet the continue living- adapting and raising their children. So much to unpack in this book!