Review: Zahra's Paradise by Amir & Khalil

Amir and Khalil, the pair of author-illustrators responsible for Zahra’s Paradise, wish to remain anonymous – with good reason. The graphic novel tackles controversial topics: election fraud, political tension, riots, the rape of political prisoners, and the improper burial of murdered protestors. However, Amir and Khalil engage with these subjects in such a way to enlighten their readers.

The novel opens with a premonition: a man captures a stray dog’s newborn puppies in a bag, beats them to death with a shovel, and disposes of them in a river. This opening scene echoes the journey of Hassan, a blogger, and his mother, Zahra. Mehdi, Zahra’s son and Hassan’s brother, has gone missing after his participation in a political protest. Zahra and Hassan spend weeks distributing missing flyers and visiting morgues, jails, and cemeteries in an attempt to find out what happened to Mehdi.

The novel is poignant and heart wrenching as it displays the relationship between mother and son. Mehdi has a nightly ritual of getting a glass of water, taking it to his room, and waiting for the optimal temperature before drinking it. He lets the ice melt for a particular amount of time, making the water just the way he likes it. Zahra, while Mehdi has disappeared, still brings a glass of ice water to Mehdi’s room every night. Hassan never dumps the water out, even though they both know Mehdi will not be there to drink it, as the presence of the glass comforts the pair.

Mehdi has disappeared because of his involvement as a protestor of the election results – unfair results electing a party that the citizens did not actually elect. Police forcefully remove protestors and lock them in prison against their will. The reader learns this through the narrative of a protestor who spent time in prison with Mehdi. He tells Hassan that he and Mehdi treated each other with such delicacy – they held each other in the cold night, kept each other company, and endured the torture from the guards together.

The novel emphasizes that there is a “democracy” in the nation but it is not at all a democracy. Officials will be “elected” whether citizens truly vote for them or not. Anyone who protests this will be persecuted any way government officials see fit. Mehdi’s prison cell mate recounts how he was raped by his male prison guards and then forced to sign paperwork stating that he was in the wrong by protesting. The images are graphic but necessary. The reader truly experiences what the characters experience through the images and narrative.

As the chronicle of finding Mehdi continues, Zahra and Hassan search for Mehdi in any place they can think of, however there are always other families there also looking for their lost loved ones. Hassan and Zahra check coroner’s offices and jails to no avail. They attempt to report Mehdi missing but when the official hears that Mehdi was a protestor, they immediately refuse to go any further with the report. All government officials are useless or too busy to care about Mehdi’s disappearance.

In the end, Zahra and Hassan are only able to find out where Mehdi is by recruiting acquaintances who are more important in the societal construct of Iran. Even though she is higher in the society, Mrs. Ardalan even has to exchange a sacred Quran for the information the family seeks. Amir and Khalil convey in this manner how in Iran, you only get anything if you are on top. The more important you are, the more easily you can get your way. If you are poor or useless to the government, nothing can be done for you.

This graphic novel does a wonderful job of informing its readers on the current state of Iran. While there is a barrage of uncomfortable images and situations addressed in the novel, it is necessary to make the reader understand the daily perils of the ordinary people of Iran like Zahra, Mehdi, and Hassan. While some readers may be very uneasy with the topics discussed in the novel, I would strongly recommend pushing through. If you are uncomfortable with something, you are learning and growing.

One of the most interesting issues addressed in the novel is the idea of temporary husbands and wives. Sepidah is a woman involved with her temporary husband, Mr. Mansoor. Mansoor is married to another woman and is only having sex with Sepidah temporarily, as their titles imply. Mansoor tells Sepidah that he doesn’t have the type of sex he has with her with his wife. Sepidah suggests getting her a temporary husband – Mansoor gets angry and immediately rejects the idea although he has a temporary spouse himself. This idea of male domination is not one I was surprised to encounter in a novel about Iranian culture. However, I had never been introduced to the subject of temporary husbands and wives and will continue to research the subject thanks to Amir and Khalil.

Readers should also take note that there is a glossary of terms in the back of the book. While reading, I was unaware of the glossary and wish I had noticed it before my read-through. It would have made my reading more comprehensible and could have eliminated the many times I had to look something up on my phone.

This graphic novel is outstandingly poignant and eye-opening, especially for readers uneducated about current events in the Middle East. This should be required reading at every high school. More United States citizens should have the base of knowledge that this novel provides.

💜 Crystal