I'll Be Strong for You
A Novel
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
This award-winning debut novel by Iranian journalist Nasim Marashi follows the lives of three young women in Tehran over the course of two seasons as they pursue their wildly different dreams even as they discover that it may mean breaking with the past and endangering their longstanding friendship.
Three recent college graduates in Tehran struggle to find their footing in this award-winning debut by Iranian journalist Nasim Marashi. Roja, the most daring of the three, works in an architecture firm and is determined to leave Tehran for graduate school in Toulouse. Shabaneh, who is devoted to her disabled brother and works with Roja, is uncertain about marrying a colleague as it would mean leaving her family behind. Leyla, who was unable to follow her husband abroad because of her commitment to her career as a journalist, is wracked with regret. Over the course of two seasons, summer and fall, in bustling streets and cramped family apartments, the three women weather setbacks and compromises, finding hope in the most unlikely places. Even as their ambitions cause them to question the very fabric of their personalities and threaten to tear their friendship apart, time and again Roja, Shabaneh and Leyla return to the comfort of their longtime affection, deep knowledge and unquestioning support of each other. Vividly capturing three very distinct voices, Marashi's deeply wrought narrative lovingly brings these young women and their friendship to life in all their complexity.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Marashi's moving if frustrating debut offers a portrait of three young women in Tehran as they struggle with various challenges. Leyla is desperately missing her husband, Misagh, who is studying in Canada. Her friend Roja, accepted to study in a PhD program in Toulouse, is trying to secure a student visa. And Shabaneh, who works with Roja at an architecture firm, is considering the pros and cons of marrying a co-worker. All three women struggle with the bonds of family as they work to achieve their goals. Roja worries about leaving her mother alone; Shabaneh cares for her disabled brother; and Leyla tries to maintain her independence by writing a newspaper column after her husband leaves. The novel is split into two parts, "Summer" and "Fall," with each alternately narrated by the three women. The shifting points of view intrigue by showing how little each woman understands what the others are going through, and their misunderstandings lead to envy and verbal abuse, culminating in a party where secrets are revealed. While frequent, meandering flashbacks add more confusion than clarity, Marashi succeeds at depicting her characters' limited freedom in an otherwise modern society. Readers of women's fiction will appreciate this.