Mosman Readers

"Book lovers never go to bed alone"

The Rose Hotel by Rahimeh Andalibian

This memoir of an Iranian family and the trauma caused to their lives by the Iranian Revolution was a compelling read. It was sad and uplifting at the same time. We follow the family being uprooted from their country and being separated from each other and finally coming together and recovering from the damage this momentous political event caused to a once happy and prosperous family.

The sad thing is that this story is probably replicated in lives of many of the Iranian diaspora and indeed similar trauma is being suffered by people in Syria, Iraq and Palestine at the moment.

We feel hope and happiness in the end as we see the family scarred but repaired after many years of coming to terms with their suffering.

Highly recommended.