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!