Product Description

Born into a wealthy, westernised elite of the Shah's Iran, Sousan Azadi grew up in luxury. In her privileged circles the thunder of approaching revolution was easy to ignore. Then the Shah fell and in the terrifying new fundamentalist regime of Ayatollah Khomeini Sousan and her friends were branded taghouti, devil's followers. They were hunted, their children brainwashed, their property confiscated. Alone with her son after the death of her husband, Sousan became an easy target. She was flung into jail, where she witnessed terrible suffering inflicted in the name of 'immodest behaviour' and 'indecency.' Only when she caught the eye of a Mullah, who clearly expected sexual favours in return, did she escape. But real freedom still lay beyond the snow-capped Zagros mountains, in Turkey- a hazardous route for a woman and child to take. OUT OF IRAN grips and involves the reader as it recounts one woman's courageous struggle for survival in fanatical war-torn Iran.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #74504 in Books
• Published on: 1988-08-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 328 pages

Customer Reviews

I Disagree One Hundred Percent with the Other Reviewer
I am an American woman who has lived in Morocco for the past ten years. I have also lived in Egypt, and spent time in several Moslem countries, although I have never been to Iran. I do not doubt the authenticity of this story at all. The author has had to protect her identity due to assassins sent by her former in-laws. Names of places and persons have CERTAINLY had to have been changed to protect certain persons. Clearly the person who wrote the other review has no knowlege of what life in most Muslim countries is really like, and no life experience to compare the story against--therefore, she believes it to be a novel.

The book started out to be interesting, but got more and more fascinating as it went along. I couldn't put it down, and finished it in two days. Her story became more and more suspenseful, clear until the very last page. I have read a lot in this genre, and this is one of the most gripping books of this type that I have come across.

In addition to the story of Sousan's life and escape, I learned some important things I had not been aware of before. For example, while reading another book about another woman's escape from Afghanistan, I learned that Afghani society was somewhat like the Taliban in terms of their ideas and morals imposed on women, even before the Soviet occupation. In this book, I was able to see that Iranian society was NOT so much like that before the Revolution. I also learned that the Shah and his father made a big mistake--they had tried to modernize the country far too quickly. My personal conclusion after reading this book was that the Iranian Revolution was, in a way, a backlash against this too-quick leap forward into modernity, and also an explosion of the jealously of the lower classes being given free reign. Society was literally turned upside down.

The book's brief epilogue does not disappoint with letting the reader briefly know what has since happened with the author and other persons appearing throughout the book. One caution--to anyone looking for a "recent" story, this book was written in 1987. But it is still just as relevant today.

Out of Iran
This is one of the best books I have read in the last couple of years. It took me 3 days to finish.
Highly recommend this book

Fact or Fiction?.. Definitely Fascinating
As a Muslim woman married to an Iranian man, I was intigued by the accounts given in the book. I have yet to visit Iran and am assured that the Iran of now is much less strict and oppressive. Sousan Azadi writes captivatingly and pulls the reader into her story beautifully, doing so without attacking the Islamic faith - only the regime under which she lived. Whether this story is fact interspersed with fiction or simply a true account is besides the point - this is a recommended read for anyone who wishes to delve into a world and existence outside their own, a world that is real enough to make you question, wonder and feel grateful.