Tehran at Twilight

Reza Malek, an Iranian-American Professor living in Harlem, returns to Tehran to help a friend. Things spiral out of control and Reza is blackmailed into deceiving a former Marine, freeing estates appropriated by the Islamic Republic, and helping Iranian gangsters and dangerous middlemen profit in the midst of a pending revolution. Thrown into the mix are Reza’s once-communist, blacklisted mother, a displaced Jewish, Polish survivor of WWII, and a contender for Reza’s job in the English department.

Salar Abdoh is an acute observer of the patterns, flaws, and simple beauties of everyday life. This astute piece of fiction expertly introduces Iran and America from the vantage point of a relatable protagonist who was educated by both countries. In a matter-of-fact fashion he dispels exaggerations, presumptions, and misunderstandings between Iran and America without proselytizing.

Instead, Abdoh depicts Harlem from the perspective of an Iranian immigrant whose early teenage years were defined by political ferment, hangings, and executions. Likewise, he describes Tehran from the view of a man who received his higher education in the US. An unpretentious, cross-cultural political thriller that rings true in the way only a skillfully crafted novel can.