Author Ramita Navai knows the landscape, the culture and the people. A British-Iranian journalist, she shapes eight short stories around the real circumstances and experiences of vastly different Teheranis.
The result is a full presentation of the city's conflicting truths, none less than the clash between cultural tradition, heritage and modernity.
Teheran's arterial street, Vali Asr, connects the characters and the city's fractured class structure.
Dariush returns to Teheran from the United States, indoctrinated and determined to sacrifice his life for a fundamentalist cause.
Somayeh's parents are willing to nourish her intelligence despite their traditional values, but she finds love, and betrayal.
Amir is asked for forgiveness by the ageing judge who sentenced his parents to death.
Bijan sips tea with a corrupt police officer and acts on inside advice to move his sheesheh (crystal meth) operation.
Leyla is a beauty forced into prostitution by poverty, who reaches great heights only to fall.
Morteza joins the civilian militia to please his parents, loses faith and liberates his sexuality.
Asghar is an ageing gangster devoted to his wife, who influences his change of heart, albeit a beat too late.
And Farideh luxuriates in old money, bemoaning modern Teheran until a stint in London sets her straight.
Iran's history is intertwined with the most intriguing examples of its present day in City of Lies. An educational, surprising and captivating read.
- Rosie Manins is chief reporter at Dunedin Television.
