Veil of Roses

Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald was loaned to me by a friend last summer when I had forgotten to bring  something to read as we left for the pool.  I never got to it that day, but held on to it and finally read it last week.  Veil of Roses is a debut novel and is an easy read.  I did find it quite interesting to learn a bit about life in Iran for women.


Tamila (Tami) Soroush is living in Iran with her parents, who had returned to Iran from the United States when Tami was a very young girl.  Her parents soon regretted their decision to return and were hopeful that  their daughters could leave someday and enjoy the freedom that the US offers.  Tami's older sister had left Iran fifteen years earlier and never returned.  On Tami's twenty-fifth birthday, her parents gave her a one way ticket to her sister's home in Arizona.  She had three months to find a husband while in the US or she would have to return to Iran.

Tami's sister worked hard at finding Iranian men for Tami to meet and marry.  Tami was willing to go along with a marriage, as long as it meant she could stay in the US.  Tami began attending English as Second Language classes and making friends there.  She met a young man working at the local Starbucks and began feeling attracted to him, while continuing to search for an Iranian man to marry.  Tami also began pursuing photography and experiencing all of the freedoms that we take for granted. 

I found the story to be quite predictable, but I did enjoy learning more about Iran and thinking about all of the freedoms that we have.