Prisoner of Tehran, Marina Nemat

I really didn’t want to read this book. I scored it for seven bucks on a discount table but it sat in my closet for over a year before I RELUCTANTLY picked it up. I feared reading this book for being brought to the lowest of the low. I mean a true-life story about a girl imprisoned in her teens as a political prisoner during the Islamic Revolution? How could this book take me anywhere but down?

I stand surprisingly corrected.

At age 16 Marina Nemat is arrested as a political prisoner and subject to torture in the notorious prison Evin. Downer. But although Nemat’s experience starts off raw and cruel, it later morphs into a story about but her time inside and an unlikely relationship with a prison guard. The story goes to such an unexpected place you’ll conclude that Nemat may just be the luckiest unlucky person that ever lived. Other surprises: Nemat’s a Christian. Her struggle with the enforcement of Islamic customs in Evin and on the streets of Iran is relatable. This book is a great read full of unexpected turns that will keep you reading until the wee hours of the night.   

Suggested mood for reading:

•            Feeling pitiful or sorry for yourself? This book will set you straight.
•           Don’t read this on vacation; this book just does not go with sandy beaches and      an umbrella in your drink. 

My Bio

As a kid I used to pick my books based solely on their cover. I liked books with pretty coloured jackets and something that indicated the main character would be a girl, preferably a girl about my given age at the time. I would check my pretty book out of the school library, take it to my desk during reading hour and open to page one. Instead of actually reading the book though, I would half close it every few minutes and be pleased all over again with my choice just from looking at the cover.  Content was overrated.

My grade three teacher was the first to catch on. I could read just fine for my age I just failed to see the joy in it. Upon finding out my mom bought me a book from the Babysitter’s Club: Little Sister series and insisted I read the whole thing. I read it cover-to-cover. I was hooked. Reading quickly became one of my favoured pass times and now well into my 20s, it hasn’t waned. Books provide me with that sense of escape that others get from watching movies.

I’m partial to memoirs because I usually find I’m most inspired by them. But I don’t hate, I love fiction too. Thanks for stopping by, my name’s Laura by the way.