SuitabookLove under pressure
Sahar and Nasrin love each other, but Nasrin’s family arranges her marriage and the pair fear serious consequences if discovered.
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Book details
Sara Farizan - Author
This is a first-love and identity story shaped by secrecy, social danger and an arranged marriage. Its central question asks what Sahar might sacrifice to remain with Nasrin, while presenting Iranian LGBTQ+ lives through a specific, high-stakes situation.
In this stunning debut, a young Iranian American writer pulls back the curtain on one of the most hidden corners of a much-talked-about culture. Seventeen-year-old Sahar has been in love with her best friend, Nasrin, since they were six. They’ve shared stolen kisses and romantic promises. But Iran is a dangerous place for two girls in love—Sahar and Nasrin could be beaten, imprisoned, even executed if their relationship came to light. So they carry on in secret—until Nasrin’s parents announce that they’ve arranged for her marriage. Nasrin tries to persuade Sahar that they can go on as they had before, only now with new comforts provided by the decent, well-to-do doctor Nasrin will marry. But Sahar dreams of loving Nasrin exclusively—and openly. Then Sahar discovers what seems like the perfect solution. In Iran, homosexuality may be a crime, but to be a man trapped in a woman’s body is seen as nature’s mistake, and sex reassignment is legal and accessible. As a man, Sahar could be the one to marry Nasrin. Sahar will never be able to love the one she wants in the body she wants to be loved in without risking her life. Is saving her love worth sacrificing her true self?
Book Brief
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Sign in for personalised guidanceThis is a first-love and identity story shaped by secrecy, social danger and an arranged marriage. Its central question asks what Sahar might sacrifice to remain with Nasrin, while presenting Iranian LGBTQ+ lives through a specific, high-stakes situation.
Sahar and Nasrin love each other, but Nasrin’s family arranges her marriage and the pair fear serious consequences if discovered.
Sahar considers sex reassignment so she could marry Nasrin, after learning that gender transition is legally accessible in the setting.
The novel is set in Tehran and presents legal and social pressures affecting homosexual and transgender people, alongside family expectations.
Prepare for discussions of same-sex love, transgender identity, gender transition, arranged marriage, persecution and possible severe harm. The book’s treatment of transition and its ultimate resolution should be approached without assuming a simple message.
This is a grounded book brief while Suitabook strengthens the analysis: some draft conclusions still depend on unresolved evidence.
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