Rahimeh Andalibian

So, at first I was thinking more like two stars but after learning that The Rose Hotel was the authors real life journey I felt compelled to give it an additional star. Also, the author can write a story. By the time that I got a little over halfway thru the book I was wishing for the book to end. I felt like the events were amazing and seeing the struggle and the shame of the family was remarkable. When I was reading how deep the dialogue was in the story I felt like there were times that I felt like the author gave too much detail which caused me not to be able to place myself in the story as I wanted to. I think that the struggle themselves were heartbreaking and although I found myself torn about this book I will say that I hope and pray that the author knows that her story is a good one no matter what the rating of the book is. I think that there were other portions of the book that bothered me but then I had to see the story through the authors eyes and that somehow changed my point of view. So I am going to leave this at 3 stars and move on from here with a new eye-opening experience in the life of this author.… (mais)

I received a free copy through Goodreads.
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The author Rahimeh Andalibian, takes us on a journey through her life in Iran to her current life in the USA. It certainly was a journey filled with regret, heartbreak, forgiveness and a whole host of emotions that just can't be captured.

Dr. Andalibian is a good story teller. She was able to incorporate the stories and views of her family members into this memoir to give us further insight into everything that happened. It was quite the intriguing memoir and gave me so much more insight and understanding into a foreign country and religion and how they have shaped her family over the decades.

The story starts off at the Rose Hotel, where once event lead to a chain reaction that ultimately effected this family for decades afterwards. While reading this, it made me appreciate all that I have, especially being privileged to be born in North America where we are allowed to voice our opinions, practice our religion openly and not be restricted due to our gender. Everything that happened since the 1970s until the present, it's so hard to believe all the atrocities that has happened so far, but she presents it to us in a way that we ultimately feel every heartbreak and emotion her family goes through.

Through it all, despite everything that happened over the years (since Abdollah's jail sentence), ultimately the family was able to survive and push through the hard times, enjoy the good times and eventually forgive each other for past transgressions.… (mais)

I highly recommend The Rose Hotel: A Memoir of Secrets, Loss, and Love From Iran to America by Rahimeh Andalibian. This memoir of Rahimeh is not only of herself but her family. It is not just a telling of events, it is family life going through the deepest of intense emotions. On the family level, it portrays a family stuck in grief and not able to recognize the hold it had over them.

On a country level, it shows Iran as going from one terrible regime of suppression and terrorizing by the SAVAK to a new kind of intolerable government by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

The author takes us from her sheltered life in the Rose Hotel during the Shah’s rule to her life in the United States.

As a small child, she ran around on the marble floors of her father’s prestigious hotel and joyfully snitched KitKat bars from a pantry. She was unaware of the way people were living outside and that her blissful life would soon change. Her father or Baba held very traditional Muslim views like men must always keep all the buttons of their shirt buttoned. To not do that was not respectful. At the time of change of government, the oldest son, Abdollah was in a normal stage of teenage development, striving to be more independent. His father,like most of Iran, is very happy when Khomeini tool power but he soon learns to distrust him with a passion. And his oldest son is unjustly accused of rape and murder.

After that the family struggles with the deepest sorrow and emotional burdens of each one individually. Alcoholism, drug addiction, unrelenting guilt haunts this family. But the hurtful basis of this is the secrets kept so long by Abdollah’s family and it is not until they are strong enough to release their secrets can they find forgiveness and growth.

I received this Advanced Reading Copy from the Amazon Vine Program free but that in no way influences my thoughts or feelings in this review.… (mais)