Prisoner of Tehran

Nemat recounts her childhood experiences growing up in Tehran during the Shah’s regime. She describes her elementary school days, her walks home, and her interactions with her strict and short-tempered mother. Nemat’s narrative reveals a world of contrasting experiences: She juxtaposes the freedom and joy of her imaginative walks from school with the controlled and often harsh environment of her home life. Her mother, beautiful yet demanding, often locks Nemat on the balcony as punishment, leading Nemat to devise creative yet desperate methods to escape the confinement, such as dropping clothespins on passersby to attract attention and help.

Nemat’s relationship with her mother is strained and complex, characterized by fear, frustration, and a desperate desire for approval and love. Nemat describes her solace in books and her friendship with an old bookseller named Albert. Albert’s bookstore becomes a sanctuary for Nemat, a place where she can escape into the world of stories and find solace from her lonely and controlled life.

Albert, the kind-hearted Armenian bookseller, becomes a significant figure in Nemat’s life. He nurtures her love for literature and offers her books to read, which become her escape from the challenges of her daily existence. Nemat recounts when Albert has to sell his bookstore and move to America.