Although I'm not gay, I completely accepted the author's POV because at that age, I did something very similar to my family, running away, although not to Italy. My father was less forgiving, to say the least. But, we got over it.
The author lays out the story jumping back and forth through time, from the moment he lays eyes on Jackson, his high-school lover, to an interrogation room with immigration officers interrogating him and his whole family after an in-flight family dust-up, then to his runaway time in Rome, back to high school with nascent blackmailers, and so on.
It sounds like a confusing approach here, but I found it to be very effective. The protagonist, Amir, has to take these mental leaps in order to come to terms with himself, and to start to figure out how to relate to his family and friends after coming out. It's important for the family too.
I am also not Muslim. I enjoyed the hints about this Iranian family dynamic and the bits and pieces of Islam, understanding a little better what might be expected, but also too that families vary. And in any family, Iranian, American, whatever, misunderstandings arise. The exploration into this area is very deft.
The descriptions of Rome, especially the Trastevere neighborhood (literally "across the Tiber") were spot on. I've been there, and the author took me back.
I would recommend this title to anyone.
The author lays out the story jumping back and forth through time, from the moment he lays eyes on Jackson, his high-school lover, to an interrogation room with immigration officers interrogating him and his whole family after an in-flight family dust-up, then to his runaway time in Rome, back to high school with nascent blackmailers, and so on.
It sounds like a confusing approach here, but I found it to be very effective. The protagonist, Amir, has to take these mental leaps in order to come to terms with himself, and to start to figure out how to relate to his family and friends after coming out. It's important for the family too.
I am also not Muslim. I enjoyed the hints about this Iranian family dynamic and the bits and pieces of Islam, understanding a little better what might be expected, but also too that families vary. And in any family, Iranian, American, whatever, misunderstandings arise. The exploration into this area is very deft.
The descriptions of Rome, especially the Trastevere neighborhood (literally "across the Tiber") were spot on. I've been there, and the author took me back.
I would recommend this title to anyone.