ROOFTOPS OF TEHRAN

 Mahbod Seraji was born in Iran, and came to the United States in the 1970s.

“A stirring story about the loss of innocence, Rooftops of Tehran reveals a side of Iran understood by few Westerners. An ambitious first novel—full of humor, originality, and meaning.”
—John Shors, author of Beneath a Marble Sky

“Rooftops of Tehran is a richly rendered first novel about courage, sacrifice, and the bonds of friendship and love. In clear, vivid details, Mahbod Seraji opens the door to the fascinating world of Iran and provides a revealing glimpse into the life and customs of a country on the verge of a revolution. A captivating read.” —Gail Tsukiyama, Author of The Street of a Thousand Blossoms and The Samurai’s Garden

“In his haunting debut novel, Mahbod Seraji brings humor and humanity to a story of secret love in the brutal last days of the Shah. Set against the background of repression that launched the Iranian revolution, Pasha’s and Zari’s story shows that love and hope among the young thrive even in the most oppressive of times. Seraji is a striking new talent.”
— Sandra Dallas, author of Tallgrass

“Beyond being a bittersweet love story, Rooftops Of Tehran is a story of Community. No reader will be unfamiliar to the situation of the alley — the neighborhood — where these characters are united and bound together by history, ritual, grief, respect, and by the bond of protection that arises under the brutality of an oppressive government. Rooftops of Tehran takes an uncommon and refreshing view of Iran and reveals how an American immigrant is born out of a young foreigner’s desperation for self-determination and social freedom.” —Susanne Pari, author of The Fortune Catcher

What’s your general reaction to the novel? Did the author make the characters come alive for you? Did you care about them? Were you fully engaged? Did you laugh and cry?

Does Pasha’s love for Zari remind you of the first time you fell in love? How is it similar? How is it different?

Ahmed, Faheemeh, Iraj, Doctor, Zari, and Pasha are young people in the Iran of the 1970s. How universal are the challenges they face? How common are their thoughts and feelings, discussions and interactions, reactions to authority, methods of going after what they want? Compare the young adults in the novel to ones you know in the U.S. today.

Do you agree with Doctor that time is the most precious human commodity?

What do you think about the open, unguarded nature of the male relationships in this novel, especially between Pasha and Ahmed? How would such a close male friendship in the U.S. be likely to differ?

Discuss the relationship between Pasha and his father. How is it similar to, or different from, the father–teenage son relationships you know?

Discuss the lives of the women in the novel. What surprises you about them and what doesn’t?

The concept of That is discussed a number of times. What does this concept mean to you? Is there a Western equivalent?

What do you think motivates Zari’s bold and tragic action during the parade? Do you see her choice as honorable or delusional, or something in between? How might a Western woman in a similar predicament react?

What aspects of Persian culture most intrigue you? Did the novel change or challenge any of your notions about Iran and Iranians? What did you learn?

The narrator discusses the unique way in which people in Iran react to grief, and the author dramatizes many scenes of mourning. What surprised you about those scenes? How do the characters mourn differently from the way people do in the U.S.?

Discuss how characters in the novel perceive the U.S., both accurately and inaccurately. What factors might be limiting or distorting their understanding? What distortions might be shaping your own understanding of Iran and Iranians?

What do you think happens to Pasha after the book ends? To the other characters?