Set in 1970s Iran during the shah’s regime, this earnest, semiautobiographical debut novel is told from the perspective of bookish 17-year-old Pasha Shahed, who, along with his best friend Ahmed, plays soccer, goofs off and thinks about girls. But Pasha pines for one girl in particular—his neighbor Zari, betrothed since birth to Pasha’s mentor, the neighborhood radical, Ramin Sobhi, whom everyone calls Doctor. Over a summer Ahmed orchestrates daily meetups with his own beloved, Faheemeh, and includes Pasha and Zari. […] The prose has the simplicity of a nonnative English speaker, which could be seen as clichéd (treasure of love, dark winter of my life) or charmingly romantic. Seraji captures the thoughts and emotions of a young boy and creates a moving portrait of the history and customs of the Persians and life in Iran during this period.

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (May 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780451226815
• ISBN-13: 978-0451226815