The Septembers Of Shiraz

The Septembers of Shiraz (2007), a novel by Iranian writer Dalia Sofer, recounts the experiences of the Amins, an Iranian Jewish family, during the Iranian Revolution in the late 1970s. The book is closely based on Sofer’s family history: When Sofer was 10, her family fled Iran, crossing the border to Turkey with the help of smugglers.

The Septembers of Shiraz depicts the changing atmosphere and events that characterize the treatment of the wealthy class by the Revolutionary Guard after the exile of the last Persian monarch, Shah Mohamed Reza Pahlavi, in 1979. The Iranian, or Islamic, Revolution brought the Islamic fundamentalist Ayatollah Khomeini to power, ushering in a period of protests and martial law which resulted in many deaths and anti-Semitic persecution of Iranian Jews. To this day, Iran remains an Islamic Republic with minimum contact with the rest of the world, whose people suffer from the ongoing sanctions imposed by Western powers.

The novel is written in a realistic narrative style, mostly in the present tense. The individual experiences of the family members are interwoven; while each of the main characters has their own concerns and strategies for survival, there are common themes that link their experiences. Iran’s rich history and culture is reflected in frequent references to art objects and poetry. At many points, sensory experiences, especially the olfactory, accompany, and sometimes relieve, the tragic unfolding of events. The loss of material wealth and comfort is a concern many of the characters’ share, and the novel juxtaposes their wealthy and privileged lives under the Shah’s protection and their situation after the Revolution. This book also explores how changes in politics and authority have devastating effects on society and on individuals.

The Septembers of Shiraz is Sofer’s first novel and has been published in 12 countries. It has been awarded several prizes, including the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize in 2008, and the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature Choice Award in 2009. It was also a finalist for the 2007 National Jewish Book Award and named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times. In 2015, the book was adapted into a movie starring Adrien Brody and Salma Hayek.

Please note: the novel contains graphic descriptions of torture and frequent anti-Semitic slurs.

The edition referred to in this guide was published in 2007 by Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Plot Summary

The Amins are a wealthy Jewish family living in Tehran. The family members are Isaac, a jeweler and gem dealer, his wife Farnaz, and their two children, Parviz and Shirin. Isaac made his name creating jewelry for the wife of the Shah and has been prosperous ever since. His jewelry showroom is staffed largely by less fortunate members of the community, whom Isaac took in and trained in jewelry making. One of these employees is Morteza, whose mother Habibeh has worked as a housekeeper in the Amin house for several years. Meanwhile, Tehran is undergoing tumultuous changes: The Shah of Iran has recently been overthrown and Revolutionary Guards have instituted martial law in the city.

Isaac and Farnaz are suffering from marital problems that have left them nearly estranged. Isaac is arrested by the Revolutionary Guards and imprisoned on suspicion of being a Zionist spy. While his employees witnessed the arrest, no one knows where Isaac is actually being held, and Farnaz doesn’t know how to find him. She enlists Habibeh to help her, since Habibeh is a devout Muslim from a working-class background, which inspires trust in the Revolutionary Guard.

Meanwhile, Morteza joins the Revolutionary Guard out of class jealousy—he is also most likely the person who reported Isaac in the first place. He encourages the other workers at Isaac’s company to loot gems and machinery.

Isaac is imprisoned in a squalid jail with many other prisoners from different backgrounds, who share their stories. The interrogator assigned to him is Mohsen, a man who was a political prisoner under the Shah and has risen through the ranks quickly under the new government. Isaac maintains his innocence to Mohsen, which often ends in him being beaten and tortured, with vicious lashings to the feet. Prisoners are executed regularly at the jail, and Isaac fears it is just a matter of time until he is killed as well.

Since Isaac’s business is no longer bringing in money and it is difficult to make financial transfers out of the country, Farnaz has been forced to curtail Parviz’s living expenses in New York, where Parviz had been studying architecture. Parviz takes a job in a hat shop to make ends meet. He is ashamed that he has been reduced to working for a living and is increasingly lonely. He finds comfort in his Hassidic Jewish landlord’s family, whose daughter he is attracted to.

At a friend’s house, Shirin finds some files listing men’s names and their supposed crimes, including one on her uncle Javad. She steals several files and buries them in her garden. The friend, the daughter of a Revolutionary Guard, suspects Shirin of stealing the files, but does not tell her father.

In prison, Isaac finally convinces Mohsen to secure his release, agreeing to turn over all the money he has in the bank to the Revolution. Isaac liquidates all his accounts, except for a cache of jewels, and is finally set free. He returns to his jewelry shop and finds Morteza looking through his papers. Morteza confronts Isaac, threatening to turn over a letter of thanks from the Shah’s wife, an incriminating piece of evidence that will surely lead to Isaac being rearrested. However, Isaac retaliates, saying that he will denounce Morteza for stealing what could have been more donations to the Revolution.

Isaac, Farnaz, and Shirin prepare to travel clandestinely through Turkey to Europe—they have money and family in Switzerland. Habibeh reveals that she has burned the files and destroyed the letter that Morteza was keeping. Smugglers lead the family over the border and the novel ends in Istanbul, where Isaac is hopeful for the future and thankful for his family.