Coming Down Again | Joobin Bekhrad
One seemingly endless summer in Tehran, Asha, a broken-hearted schoolboy on sleepy Cypress Lane, finds himself with nothing to do. Nothing, that is, except daydream about escaping to London to become a rock and roll star, wait for Keith Richards and the Stones to come on the television, let his imagination run amok in his mum's closet, and pine away in vain for Arezu, the pretty girl upstairs who's hit it off with a classmate of his. Down and out in the manic, bustling Iranian capital, Asha only finds solace in Ghermezi, his battered cherry-red guitar, the pin-ups on his bedroom wall, and his dreams. Though he longs to leave Tehran, in which he sees no place or future for himself, he also holds in his heart a special love and affection for the only city he's ever known. Written in Bekhrad's signature prose, with vivid descriptions of Tehran, references to rock and roll, and heavy doses of angst interlaced with humour, Coming Down Again paints at once a delicate, endearing portrait of a disillusioned Iranian teenager and a city so often misunderstood. Bekhrad's book is also a must-read for rock and roll lovers, as well as those interested in learning more about the post-Revolution Iranian experience.