Laura Fitzgerald, Veil of Roses

Veil of Roses

Laura Fitzgerald

Bantam, January 2007, $12.00

ISBN 0553383884

In the Republic of Iran, twenty-seven year old schoolteacher Tamila Soroush is despondent over her restrictive life, so when her parents send her to live with her married older sister Maryam and her spouse orthopedic surgeon Ardishir in Arizona for three months (the length of her visa), she is ecstatic. She knows her family expects her to meet and marry an Iranian expatriate, which she initially agrees to find.

However, in Tucson, Tami finds the choices a female can make in America incredible. For instance, on her way to a class in English as a second language, unescorted she stops at a local Starbucks for a coffee; her mother would have cardiac arrest. There she meets Ike, who wants to date her, but though she enjoys his attention, she knows her family would reject a non-Persian, and so she cannot indulge with him if she is to meet her goal, staying in America to photograph freedom. She meets the more acceptable Haroun, but his anal behavior drives Tami up a wall. Tami makes friends with foreign students in school, but soon her time runs out, so she has to make up her mind to choose the purebred her family wants, the American she desires, or Tehran.

This is a deep character study that enables the audience to see the marvels of freedom through the eyes of a young woman tasting choices that Americans take for granted. Tami's asides are fabulous and insightful, as she is awed by the miracle of stopping for a coffee with no chaperone. Her friendships with her student peers add to the wonderment that makes her glow. In many ways she overwhelms her plot, as readers will root for the best to happen to this charming Iranian expatriate.