Persian Girls
by Nahid Rachlin
Jeremy P. Tarcher, HK$120
Nahid Rachlin's memoir may read like a novel, as a quotation on its cover boasts, but this is not necessarily a good thing. Writing about her life from 1955 to 1988, the author details in linear style her time in Iran and the US and in different households - that of her birth mother Maryam and the barren sister to whom Rachlin is given as a baby. Although the sentiments ring true, at times the dialogue sounds false. One example is a conversation between Maryam and several relatives: '[Prophet Mohammed] was so unassuming, and, unlike the Shah, lived sparsely. His house ... often remained dark for want of oil.' Elsewhere, Rachlin's story recalls the John Lennon line, 'Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans.' After she spends nine happy years with her adoptive mother, her father forces her to live with her real family, who might as well be strangers. Her only gain is a headstrong sister called Pari, who wants to marry for love. Although hers is not a particularly religious family (members don't pray and the women eschew chadors), Rachlin and her sisters still lead oppressed, disappointing lives. Perhaps not surprisingly it is the female relationships that end the book on a note of hope.