Book description
Kamin Mohammadi was nine years old when her family fled Iran during the
1979 Revolution. Bewildered by the seismic changes in her homeland, she
turned her back on the past and spent her teenage years trying to fit in
with British attitudes to family, food and freedom. She was twenty-seven
before she returned to Iran, drawn inexorably back by memories of her
grandmother's house in Abadan, with its traditional inner courtyard, its
noisy gatherings and its very walls
steeped in history.
The Cypress Tree
is Kamin's account of her journey home, to rediscover her Iranian self
and to discover for the first time the story of her family: a sprawling
clan that sprang from humble roots to bloom during the affluent,
Biba-clad 1960s, only to be shaken by the horrors of the Iran-Iraq War
and the heartbreak of exile, and toughened by the struggle for democracy
that continues today.
This moving and passionate memoir is a love letter both to Kamin's
extraordinary family and to
Iran itself, an ancient country which has survived so much modern tumult
but where joy and resilience will always triumph over despair.
Fascinating insight on a topic much discussed but rarely understood from
a human perspective. Recommended reading for anyone with an interest in
the Middle East Kamin Mohammadi was born in Iran in 1969 and exiled to
the UK in 1979. She is an experienced journalist, travel writer and
broadcaster who has written for the British and international press
including The Times
, Financial Times
, Harpers Bazaar
, Marie Claire
and the Guardian
as well as co-authoring The Lonely Planet Guide to Iran
. She is currently living in Italy.
@kaminmohammadi
