I'll Be Strong for You

January 1, 2021
Three young women try to forge a life in modern-day Tehran. Roja is ambitious: After completing college and a master's degree in Tehran, she'd give almost anything to pursue her Ph.D. in France. Meanwhile, her friend Shabaneh isn't quite sure she's in love with the colleague who's been pursuing her. Shabaneh can't decide whether to marry Arsalan or break up with him; she also has her disabled brother to think about. Finally there's Leyla, the third friend in this trio. Leyla's husband has left for France after trying in vain to convince Leyla to emigrate with him. As she starts a new job at a newspaper, Leyla grieves his loss and tries to come to terms with her own decision. Marashi's first novel to be translated into English is split into two parts--two seasons, really: summer and fall. Each part then alternates among Roja's, Shabaneh's, and Leyla's points of view. But even though their lives are different--their interests, their memories, their worries--their narrative voices are, unfortunately, remarkably similar; they all sound the same. Partly this is due to a trick Marashi uses to flash back and forth in time--a flash that is only signaled by a change in verb tense. These flashes would have worked better in a film. Still, Marashi is sensitive to all the subtle and not-so-subtle fluctuations in her character's lives: Her descriptions of Roja's desire to leave Iran, for example, while also worrying about leaving her mother behind, are especially poignant. The friendship among Roja, Shabaneh, and Leyla is likewise portrayed with sharp clarity. They support each other, but they also call each other out on their delusions and weaknesses. An intriguing if imperfect book by an emerging talent.

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