At the center of Iranian American author and activist Ehsaneh Sadr's graceful debut, A Door Between Us, are four families facing conflict: the Hojjatis, Bagheris, Rahimis and Tabibians. The story starts with a wedding gone wrong in Tehran--a humorous premise that soon reveals itself to be much more nuanced than at first blush. Sarah Bagheri's wealthy and respected Aunt Mehri wants her niece to marry into a good Islamic family with an obvious pro-government upbringing. So imagine her horror when she learns Sarah's fiancé, Ali Rahimi, has both a sister and a brother-in-law who are swept up in the 2009 Green Wave, an anti-establishment movement hellbent on the removal of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from office.
But the complications don't stop there. Aunt Mehri has an adopted son, Sadegh, whose biological mother has suddenly reappeared in his life. She brings with her a daughter, as well as some pretty damning evidence against the Basij, a corrupt volunteer militia within the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. And Sadegh? Well, he's a member of that same Basij. He wouldn't dare defy them. Right?
Despite its many interwoven threads, A Door Between Us leaves no character unexplored or underdeveloped. Sadr builds a rich playing field that can contain both the shallow bickering and the profound wisdom of her characters with ease. They bask in her devotedly detailed portrait of late-aughts Iran, a country so often misunderstood and abused by Western forces. This is a brave, intelligent novel, a story of difference overcome by love. --Lauren Puckett, freelance writer