A Bitter Veil (29 page)

This is a work of fiction. Several years ago when I was casting around for a new novel to write, I was chatting with another author about the themes I wanted to explore—I am drawn to stories about women whose choices have been taken away from them. How do they react? Do they simply surrender? Become victims? Or can some survive, even triumph over their travails?

As we talked, I remember becoming captivated by a personal story told to me some years before. It contained elements of what I thought would be a great tale: young lovers who become ensnared by history, family complications, and the inherent conflict of a political and cultural revolution that turned some people into heroes, others into cowards. I imagined writing about the journey of a brave young woman confronted with almost insurmountable obstacles. The only problem was that there was no crime involved, and I write crime fiction. When I said that to my author friend, he looked at me as if I was a little strange, and said, “It’s fiction. Find one.”

I took his advice.

A caveat: Although
A Bitter Veil
is fiction, it is grounded in extensive research. For better or worse, the Iranian Revolution is one of the most well documented periods of world history, and I pored through many books, both fiction and nonfiction. I also read many articles and memoirs and viewed timelines, films and videos. Some of the texts are listed below. I also interviewed and talked to at least five Iranian-Americans who lived in Iran during the revolution. They shared their experiences, their journeys, and their fears. One of them vetted the manuscript, specifically searching for factual and cultural errors. Any mistakes that remain are mine alone, for which I apologize in advance. 

Not surprisingly, perhaps, none of the Iranian-Americans I talked to wanted their names made public. They should know I will be forever in their debt. Because of their generosity, I was able to tell Anna’s story.

There may be some who think I have unfairly created or perpetuated stereotypes in this book. It was never my intention to demonize the Iranian people or the revolutionaries who toppled the shah. However, history teaches us that the chaos and destruction of a political and cultural upheaval can cause human beings to act in extreme ways. It has happened before—the French, Russian, Chinese, and Cuban revolutions come to mind. It also happened in Iran. To that end, my object was to show the dissolution of a marriage, a family, and a culture, all of which could not stand up to the stress that revolution imposes. I hope the critics will take that into account.

Finally, I hope that I have faithfully illustrated the great love the Iranian-Americans I talked to have for their country and the culture. It is a love that will endure.

Christiane Bird

Neither East Nor West: One Woman’s Journey Through the Islamic Republic of Iran

(Pocket Books, 2001)

Ariel Sabar

My Father’s Paradise: A Son’s Search for his Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq

(Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2008)

Marina Nemat

Prisoner of Tehran

(Free Press, 2007)

Abbas Milani

The Persian Sphinx: Amir Abbas Hoveyda

(Mage, 2000)

Marjane Satrapi

Persepolis

(Pantheon, 2003)

Azar Nafisi

Reading Lolita in Tehran

(Random House, 2003)

Mahbod Seraji

Rooftops of Tehran

(New American Library, 2009)

Betty Mahmoody with William Hoffer

Not Without My Daughter

(St. Martin’s, 1987)

Dalia Sofer

The Septembers of Shiraz

(Ecco/HarperCollins, 2007)

Ryszard Kapuscinski

Shah of Shahs

(Harcourt Brace, Jovanovich, 1985)

Debra Johanyak

Behind the Veil

(University of Akron Press, 2007)

Words of Paradise: Selected Poems of Rumi

(Viking Studio, 2000)

Stephen Kinzer

All the Shah’s Men

(J. Wiley & Sons, 2003)

Libby Fischer Hellmann is the award-winning author of the Ellie Foreman and Georgia Davis mystery series;
Nice Girl Does Noir
, a two volume short story collection; and the stand-alone novel,
Set the Night on Fire
. She also edited the highly praised crime fiction anthology,
Chicago Blues
. She has lived in the Chicago area over thirty years.

Visit
http://libbyhellmann.com/
for more information.

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Set the Night on Fire

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