{"product_id":"journey-from-the-land-of-no-a-girlhood-caught-in-revolutionary-iran-paperback","title":"Journey from the Land of No: A Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary Iran - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eRoya Hakakian\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn emotional, evocative coming-of-age story about one deeply intelligent and perceptive girl's attempt to find her own voice in prerevolutionary Iran\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"An immensely moving, extraordinarily eloquent, and passionate memoir.\"--Harold Bloom\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRoya Hakakian was twelve years old in 1979 when the revolution swept through Tehran. The daughter of an esteemed poet, she grew up in a household that hummed with intellectual life. Family gatherings were punctuated by witty, satirical exchanges and spontaneous recitations of poetry. But the Hakakians were also part of the very small Jewish population in Iran who witnessed the iron fist of the Islamic fundamentalists increasingly tightening its grip. It is with the innocent confusion of youth that Roya describes her discovery of a swastika--\"a plus sign gone awry, a dark reptile with four hungry claws\"--painted on the wall near her home. As a schoolgirl she watched as friends accused of reading blasphemous books were escorted from class by Islamic Society guards, never to return. Only much later did Roya learn that she was spared a similar fate because her teacher admired her writing. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHakakian relates in the most poignant, and at times painful, ways what life was like for women after the country fell into the hands of Islamic fundamentalists who had declared an insidious war against them, but we see it all through the eyes of a strong, youthful optimist who somehow came up in the world believing that she was different, knowing she was special. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA wonderfully evocative story, \u003ci\u003eJourney from the Land of No\u003c\/i\u003e reveals an Iran most readers have not encountered and re-creates a time and place dominated by religious fanaticism, violence, and fear with an open heart.\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the Hardcover \u003cbr\u003e\"We stormed every classroom, inscribed our slogans on the blackboard . . . Never had mayhem brought more peace. All our lives we had been taught the virtues of behaving, and now we were discovering the importance of misbehaving. Too much fear had tainted our days. Too many afternoons had passed in silence, listening to a fanatic's diatribes. We were rebelling because we were not evil, we had not sinned, and we knew nothing of the apocalypse. . . . This was 1979, the year that showed us we could make our own destinies. We were rebelling because rebelling was all we could do to quell the rage in our teenage veins. Together as girls we found the courage we had been told was not in us.\" \u003cbr\u003eIn Journey from the Land of No Roya Hakakian recalls her childhood and adolescence in prerevolutionary Iran with candor and verve. The result is a beautifully written coming-of-age story about one deeply intelligent and perceptive girl's attempt to find an authentic voice of her own at a time of cultural closing and repression. Remarkably, she manages to re-create a time and place dominated by religious fanaticism, violence, and fear with an open heart and often with great humor. \u003cbr\u003eHakakian was twelve years old in 1979 when the revolution swept through Tehran. The daughter of an esteemed poet, she grew up in a household that hummed with intellectual life. Family gatherings were punctuated by witty, satirical exchanges and spontaneous recitations of poetry. But the Hakakians were also part of the very small Jewish population in Iran who witnessed the iron fist of the Islamic fundamentalists increasingly tightening its grip. It is with the innocent confusion of youth that Roya describes her discovery of a swastika--\"a plus sign gone awry, a dark reptile with four hungry claws\"--painted on the wall near her home. As a schoolgirl she watched as friends accused of reading blasphemous books were escorted from class by Islamic Society guards, never to return. Only much later did Roya learn that she was spared a similar fate because her teacher admired her writing. \u003cbr\u003eHakakian relates in the most poignant, and at times painful, ways what life was like for women after the country fell into the hands of Islamic fundamentalists who had declared an insidious war against them, but we see it all through the eyes of a strong, youthful optimist who somehow came up in the world believing that she was different, knowing she was special. At her loneliest, Roya discovers the consolations of writing while sitting on the rooftop of her house late at night. There, \"pen in hand, I led my own chorus of words, with a melody of my own making.\" And she discovers the craft that would ultimately enable her to find her own voice and become her own person. \u003cbr\u003eA wonderfully evocative story, Journey from the Land of No reveals an Iran most readers have not encountered and marks the debut of a stunning new talent.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRoya Hakakian\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eA Beginner's Guide to America\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eAssassins of the Turquoise Palace, \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e Journey from the Land of No, \u003c\/i\u003eand has published two collections of poetry in Persian. Her essays have appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal, \u003c\/i\u003e and on NPR's \u003ci\u003eAll Things Considered\u003c\/i\u003e. She has collaborated on programming for leading journalism units in network television, including \u003ci\u003e60 Minutes\u003c\/i\u003e. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, and served on the editorial board of \u003ci\u003eWorld Affairs\u003c\/i\u003e. Since 2015, she has taught at THREAD, a writing workshop at Yale, and is a fellow at the Davenport College at Yale. She lives in Connecticut.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 272\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.63 x 8.02 x 5.24 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e June 28, 2005\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52039867171117,"sku":"9780609810309","price":21.79,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/WHUzUTl2ekZHcU1DMjFLRkp4c1hmZz09.webp?v=1777967427","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/journey-from-the-land-of-no-a-girlhood-caught-in-revolutionary-iran-paperback","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}