One of the reasons I love reading is because it affords me the opportunity to live so many different lives. Memoirs have more recently become one of my favorite things to read for the way they offer personal insights and, occasionally, an educating look at places and histories we may not be familiar with. It’s a gift to be able to learn about different cultures and events through the eyes of someone to whom the experiences meant something monumental. In such a way We Heard the Heavens Then, Aria Minu-Sepehr’s account of his young life in Iran during the 1979 revolution, captures the essence of what a memoir can bring to its reader: a unique look at history, a new understanding of a culture, and a powerful story.
More than a meaningful journey into his singular childhood, We Heard the Heavens Then serves as a feeling dedication to the life of Aria’s father, an esteemed general in Iran’s Air Force. Through its pages Aria accounts his privileged childhood spent on an air force base, advancing the visual aspect of the story with his aptitude for the subtle, incidental wit of a child’s perspective. He carries the delicate narrative through the beginnings of the Iranian Revolution when his life, as well as the lives of families and loved ones, became endangered. Wondering with every passing day if his father will be returned safely home or if the ill-fated inevitable will really occur, a ten year-old Aria balances new schools, cities, cultures and the tumultuous understanding of youth coming of age, all the while finding solace in hope during a time of harrowing unrest.
We Heard the Heavens Then affected me in a lot of ways. I felt in it the earnestness with which Aria wished to pay tribute to the country and people he loved, as he wanted to remember them. I was enthralled in the way he leads the reader to a better understanding of what his life was like during such a difficult time, as well as the lives of others around him in various social positions. But additionally, I felt in the book a son’s intense desire to introduce the world, as much as he’s able, to the greatest fixture of his life: his father. Aria colorfully illustrates the character of the man who paved his own understanding of the world, his own desire to do good things, and he leaves the reader impassioned by his efforts.
To surmise (something I’m never able to do, but I do try): We Heard the Heavens Then is a motivation to embrace life to its fullest, to stand for what you believe in, and to always hold on to hope. It’s a book that will not fail, I think, to entirely captivate whoever reads it. And it’s a reading experience you’ll not soon forget.
Title: We Heard the Heavens Then: A Memoir of Iran
Author: Aria Minu-Sepehr
Genre: Memoir {Family, War, Coming-of-Age, Middle East, Culture}
Publisher: Free Press
Format: Hardcover
Release date: April 10, 2012
Provided by: Free Press (C/O)
Buy the book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BetterWorldBooks
Connect with the author: Website | Blog | Simon & Schuster
This book is: Moving, insightful, educational
Recommended for fans of: Annia Ciezadlo, Azar Nafisi, Greg Mortenson
Disclosure: I was provided with a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of review. Although I received the book free of charge the opinions represented in this review are entirely and authentically my own.
I’m a blogger of eight years, a self-taught graphic designer and a voracious reader since my very first mastering of The Foot Book. I live in New England where I can be found up to my eyebrows in books, with Dean Martin on the stereo and a glass of wine in hand.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Darling! I feel like it’s been ages since I read one of your posts and I’m SO sorry for that. I think the book by Mr. Minu-Sepehr sounds like memoir at its best, and it’s no wonder you were so moved by it. I also love reading memoirs, especially those which alter my view of life in such a radical way – most memoirs transform you, as does any book, but this one you reviewed here just sounds so powerful and…meaningful. Iran’s history is often ignored, overlooked or just misunderstood on this hemisphere of the world – the more we can learn about Iran, its people, its past and present, the better. I feel that their history is very dramatic and tragic…probably in consonance with the temperament of their inhabitants. It has a lot of shades, and there are many perspectives of course, but it can’t be denied that Iranians are anything if not passionate about who they are…
If you loved this, I highly recommend Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel (in 2 installments), “Persepolis”. It sounds like an excellent ‘companion’ to Minu-Sepehrs’s memoir.
xxxx B.
Firstly, thank you so much for your lovely comment, dear! And secondly, you never have to apologize! I’m very sorry my response is so delayed, and I also owe you a very long e-mail which should be happening sometime this week.
I agree so much with everything you said. I think it’s important to read memoirs every now and then, because they bring something entirely different into your life, a unique sort of understanding. And I think part of the reason for my strong interest in Middle Eastern-focused memoirs right now is to make up for all that I’ve missed learning about – the history and culture and people. I learned a lot about Iran’s emotional and historical make-up, so to speak, from this one just as Annia Ciezadlo’s Day of Honey gave me new insights into Iraq and Lebanon. And everything you learn becomes a part of you so in some simple way they’ve made me feel a little more whole, a little more worldly. (:
I’ve heard marvelous things about Persepolis, but I haven’t read it myself. Thanks for the recommendation, dear! Knowing that you hold it in high esteem makes it even more of a must-read!
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