The Walking: A Novel
Khadivi follows up her debut, The Age of Orphans (2009), with a tale of two brothers caught in the crosshairs of the Iranian revolution. Saladin and his older brother, Ali, flee Iran after they are forced to participate in a brutal execution carried out by their father and a mullah. On the run, the teen boys only have each other. They cross the border with two shady drug runners and secure passage in cramped quarters on a ship that takes them to an island where they wait with other refugees for a flight that will take them to a place where they hope to get a fresh start. But it is only Saladin who makes it to Los Angeles to embark on a new life. Khadivi moves back and forth in time to reveal how the brothers came to be separated, but also shifts perspective to allow for a wider look at the plight of the Iranians who didn’t leave the country after the Ayatollah seized power. This is a deeply personal and revelatory novel. --Kristine Huntley