The House on Sun Street, a beautifully written coming-of-age novel, affectionately presents the journey of a girl narrator navigating the complexities of life in revolutionary Tehran. Author Mojgan Ghazirad's debut novel is a polished gem for readers across age groups, those going through adolescence now as well as those for whom it is a more distant memory. The protagonist Moji tells this story; her world during her childhood and adolescence is anchored in the classic One Thousand and One Nights, which her grandfather Agha Joon reads to her. The stories provide stability for Moji and Mar Mar, her younger sister, as their father, who has been serving in the shah's military, departs the country for the United States. Eventually, after an extensive international search for visas, Moji, Mar Mar, and their mother are able to join him. But turmoil follows them in the form of the Iranian hostage crisis back in Tehran: "It seemed as if an evil ifrit had cast a dark spell on our life in America." After a year of increasing isolation, they return to Iran.
Although reuniting with their family is joyful, almost everything has changed, most of all in the role of women, which Moji and her sister are fast becoming. It seems things that Moji loves most--reading, her friend Nusha, and the enigmatic librarian Shirin--hold hidden threats in the new world of Iran. The House on Sun Street is an unforgettable journey through history, the pains of growing up, and the power of storytelling. --Elizabeth DeNoma, executive editor, DeNoma Literary Services, Seattle, Wash.