Details:
- author: Mojgan Ghazirad
- full title: The House on Sun Street
- narrator: Nikki Massoud
- genre: historical fiction
- topics: #iran, #iranianrevolution, #islamicrevolution
- publisher: Dreamscape Media
- publish date: 23 Jan 2024
- timing: 9:29:00
My Rating of the Audiobook:
- content: 💙💙💙💙
- narration: 💙💙💙💙💙
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| Goodreads |
Excerpt from the Book:
We had gathered in my grandparents’ house on Sun Street that night in August 1978. The house was surrounded by a vast garden in central Tehran, neighboring the mansion of Prince Shapour, the younger brother of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. We were sitting on a wooden divan in the garden, Mar Mar beside me playing with her bangs, listening to Agha Joon, Baba, and my uncle Reza as they talked about the Shah of Iran and the turmoil brewing in the country. Reza had brought the three wooden divans from the basement and had spread the paisley-patterned Kashan rugs on them after washing the scorching terrazzo tiles with cold water to cool down the terrace. The lanterns gleamed golden light over the intertwined carpet flowers and brought life to the parched garden. My grandmother Azra had placed her globe-shaped samovar on a birch table between the divans and brewed tea in a giant teapot on top of the samovar. Narrow-waisted istikans glistened in china saucers as she poured tea and placed the istikans on the tray. Maman and my aunts Leila and Saba were listening to the conversation and passing the tea tray among the family. Water burbled in the golden samovar, and the rich aroma of cardamom black tea wafted in the air as they drank and talked about the events happening in the country.My Thoughts:
Moji and her sister Mar Mar live in Tehran. They love the stories from The Book of a Thousand Nights and a Night that their grandfather reads to them. Right before the Islamic Revolution, the father goes to study in America, and the family is supposed to go with him. But they can't go to America from Iran. The family travels to Europe and tries to get to America from there. After several attempts, they succeed and join their father. Later, the family returns to Iran and finds everything much changed after the revolution.
At the beginning of each chapter, there are excerpts from The Book of a Thousand Nights and a Night. The House on Sun Street is autobiographical and tells the story of young author Mojgan Ghazirad and her memories of the Islamic Revolution. I liked the novel and the history and culture of Iran woven into this story.
The narration by Nikki Massoud is excellent.
About the Author:
A native of Iran, Mojgan Ghazirad graduated from Tehran University of Medical Sciences with medical degree. She studied pediatrics at Inova Children’s Hospital and received her neonatal medicine specialty from the George Washington University. She currently works as an assistant professor of pediatrics at the George Washington University Hospital and Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC. Her essays and short stories in English have appeared in Longreads, Michigan Quarterly Review, Idaho Review, New Orleans Review, Nowruz Journal, The Common, Assignment, Best American Travel Writing 2020, etc. Her Persian writings have been published in Zanan, Hengam, Shargh Daily and Salamat Magazine.
She has published three collections of short stories in Farsi in Iran and Europe: A Lover in White Jacket in 2012 in Iran, Turquoise Dream in 2014 in Germany, and her last collection In the Solitude of Suitcases in 2016 in the UK. She has earned an MFA in creative writing from the Mountainview Low-Residency MFA in January 2018.
Mojgan Lives with her family in Great Falls, Virginia.
About the Narrator:
Nikki Massoud is an actor and audiobook narrator based in Brooklyn. Her television work includes Succession (HBO), Emergence (ABC), Mozart in the Jungle (Amazon), and Madam Secretary (CBS). Her stage credits include Sam Gold's production of OTHELLO at New York Theatre Workshop, alongside Daniel Craig and David Oyelowo, and regional work at The Old Globe, Berkeley Rep, The Huntington Theatre Company, and Portland Center Stage. Nikki has narrated over 30 audiobooks, currently available on Audible. She is a graduate of the Brown University/Trinity Rep MFA Program, Georgetown University, and BADA (British-American Drama Academy.)
