the house of the mosque by kader abdolah

The truth is I find the first half of the book a little choppy (which I suspect is a translation issue or it may be that Abdolah uses very short sentences that conveys a lot.) and a little frivolous. In a mere 5 pages, Abdolah can take you through the joke about a cow, about Zinat and the hostage incident of Americans in Iran. It’s hard to talk about this book because there are so many characters and stories happening one after another. The revolution changes the Aqa Jaan household beyond recognition and no one can foresee what will happen in the days and months to come. Near the 1970’s, pockets of dissidents emerged and the intentions of some family members are in doubt as influence of Communism, religious fanaticism and a revolution against the Shah becomes imminent. The first half of the book talks about happier times, a little laugh here and a little mischieves there, the household members are up to, some innocent, some naughty and unexpectedly erotic antics. So it pays for me to check the family tree. So when one speak about Aqa Jaan’s nephew such as the Muezzin’s son, Shalhbal, it almost looks as if Aqa Jaan is talking about his own son and less so about his son Jawad and daughters Nasrin and Ensi. In Muslim culture, the bond of father, uncles and community are very close. There are many colourful characters, so I have to refer to the family tree several times to get around in my head who’s who.

The House of Mosques also have two grandmothers Golebeh and Golbanu, who only wish for sweeping the floor in secret is to go to Mecca for pilgrimage one day. The Imam Alsaberi has a wife named Zinat Khathom, who bears him daughter Sadiq who married the rebellious and dangerous imam Khalkhal and son, Ahmad, the successor of the mosque after his father. The women cover themselves in chador from head to toe, while the Tehran women drop the veil and followed the way of the Shah. In the little town of Senejan close to Qom, lives are going about as they have been for hundreds years, television and transistor radio exist but not every household has one, in fact it is scorned upon as these media corrupts the soul. Set in 1950 Iran, the country is at the brink of a revolution. Aqa Jaan is an honest man making an honest living of selling carpets and is the head of the house.

Aqa Jaan’s family has lived in the house of the mosque for centuries. Two of his cousins also live in the house one is the mosque’s imam, Alsaberi and the other is the muezzin.

The house of the mosque by kader abdolah