2021: Here's the deal - I really, really liked this book.

HOWEVER, I have been a sixteen year old "in love", and I sure hope to God that I don't get to be 77 years old and filled with regret that I didn't make things happen with that one guy 60+ years ago. And maybe I just wasn't dating the right guy at 16 (and thank goodness I'm not still pining over him) but honestly, I have never been a fan of stories that hinge on the fact that two teenagers didn't bone each other.

That being said: this was a rich, lovely, wonderful novel about young love, loss, different cultures, and food, just to name a few topics covered in this novel. There are some great hidden gems about Newton, MA that you'll enjoy if you know it at all. -1 point overall for the inclusion of a gratuitous gay character that was killed off early and then shrugged away with a "this would never have happened between us anyway because it was the 60's".

This was a prime example of excellent historical fiction in my opinion. I knew NOTHING about the 1953 coup in Iran, and that did not detract from the story at all. Nor did explanation of the historical context slow down the plot or make me forget the progress that the two young lovers were making.

Don't get me wrong - this was a brutal separation that Roya and Bahman were forced to suffer. BUT. If time heals all wounds...there was too much still riding on this relationship by the end of the story. Too much regret for what might have been, and not enough appreciating of what did happen imho.