THE AYATOLLAH'S GAZE by Majid Parsi

 3* Slightly disappointing, as it comes across as if the only person who had it hard/suffered a loss, was the side character Reza, who lost his lover, Farid.


My mum came from an ethnic background and country where a gay man was publicly stoned to death in the 60s, in front of new- adult her. That was shocking, not so much the contents of this book in which Majid, not his real name, took silly risks and risked his family's safety, although he's used a pseudonym to maybe protect them, if they're still in Iran.

Was I surprised at what he and his friends got up to? Yes, because they were exposing themselves publicly, and not many were discreet, or seemed to have a braincell or few. Their antics, their openness, the lack of what felt like actual danger, made this book less than it could've been. I'm not sure how I was meant to see Majid and the LGBTQIA community as oppressed and suppressed in Iran, because that's not how it came across. Despite what we're told about his father's and elder brother's embrace of Islam, neither interfered in his antics or seemed to question anything. Perhaps for fear of not liking the answers they'd get? Then again, daddy made his military service cushier, so maybe he'd have intervened with the morality police. Sadly, it felt like Majid had it easy, that lies came to him easily and that he used others, including a female who turned out not to be as liberal as they'd both thought, and who threatened suicide when he 'dumped' her. And he was not a good friend to Ali, in his pleasure seeking. Majid was selfish and not very likeable, which was sad, as I wanted to be rooting for him. Reza and Farid seemed to be the only ones to suffer - Reza, the loss of Farid and not knowing for a year about his tragic end, and to find decent could-have-been in-laws who tried to protect him in the period before the truth came out. THAT was tragic, and sad. 

This book didn't feel sincere or believable, sadly.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Neem Tree Press for my reading pleasure.

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